The article got some pretty high praise from a Team Kodi rock-star: Nate Thomas.

Nate and I don’t see eye-to-eye on everything, but we did agree on our opinions of manufacturers like SmartKodi. Check out the comments on that article to see what he said.

Since then, there haven’t really been many boxes which have ticked me off that much. I’m not against Fully Loaded Kodi boxes, even though that’s not how I choose to watch my TV. A ton of people love them and I think they have a place in the industry.

I’m also not against people charging for providing a service, as long as it’s giving a fair value to the customer.

But what I don’t like is when a company is obviously overcharging for a device and making an insane amount of money off their customer’s lack of knowledge.

As I said in that first article:

I worked in consumer electronics retail with Circuit City for a long time – over ten years, in fact. We were always taught to ignore our opinions on a product and just pitch its features and benefits. If any of you are in sales, you’ll understand what I mean.

Most products were beneficial to at least some customers, even if we didn’t like them. Occasionally, we came across a product that is just so bad, or so overpriced that you really have to wonder what was going through the manufacturer’s heads.

The StreamSmart box Anti-review

You can find out about StreamSmart at StreamSmart.tv. There are other sites with similar names, but I’ll get into that in a minute. They’re all online stores, and all sell the same product. I won’t link to any of the sites because that may indirectly help them out, and that’s definitely not my purpose here. All of the images in this article were taken on December 27th, 2016 (except for two images which are noted in their descriptions) and were accurate as of the time of this writing.

So if you’re ready to find out why you shouldn’t buy a StreamSmart Android Box, let’s get started.

I’m going to cover both the StreamSmart S4 and the newer StreamSmart PRO in this article, because I believe that both are an absolutely horrible value for your money.

First I’ll list out the specs of each below and then get into why. Please note: the following specs have been copied in their entirety from the StreamSmart.tv website. Only the order of the specs have been changed in order to put all relevant hardware specs together at the top of the lists. No item has been added or removed.

Ergonomically designed remote control makes operations simple and comfortable.

MCU power on/off by remote control

How much should a StreamSmart box cost?

What would you pay for such an amazing piece of cutting edge technology?

I’m being a little tongue-in-cheek here because neither of these devices have anything close to cutting edge technology.

The AmLogic S805 that’s in the StreamSmart S4 was announced way, way back in April 2014. CNX-Software did an excellent write up back then of the differences in the main AmLogic chipsets at the time: the MX, S802, S812 and S805.

In the image below, you can see a current selection of the AmLogic S805 Android boxes at GearBest. With the exception of the Android projector and one crazy box priced at $200, all of the devices are currently priced between $32 and $65 US. For the record, these prices are accurate as of December 29th 2016.

The StreamSmart PRO boasts the newer AmLogic S905 processor. This is still a good performing chipset, and the one found in both the MINIX NEO U1 and SkyStream One. Even though this is a newer chipset, the S905 still came out in the latter half of 2015. If you’re interested in the performance difference between the S805 that’s in the StreamSmart S4 and the S905 that’s in the StreamSmart PRO, CNX-Software did a comparison test back in November 2015. Caution, it’s a technical article, so it may be a bit heavy for the casual reader.

At GearBest, similar devices range between $36 and $79 US – excluding the $26 Android stick. To be fair, Android stick PC’s normally have less features than their TV box counterparts. Comparing on cost isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison. Again, these prices are accurate as of December 29th, 2016.

StreamSmart costs HOW MUCH???

If you’ve been following along, you’ve probably got a good idea that I think a StreamSmart box is insanely overpriced.

But just how much are they?

A StreamSmart box is over seven times more expensive than they need to be!

Seriously. I did the math.

If you look at the nine (normal) AmLogic S805 boxes in the GearBest image above, their average cost is $45.66. Compare that to the $349 that StreamSmart charges for the S4 and that’s 7.64 times more than the average S805 Android box.

The average cost of the twelve S905 Android boxes at GearBest is $57.08. That works out to be 7.86 times more expensive than the average!

With that much markup, there better be some killer features, right?

Well..not exactly.

Support Network

The after-the-sale support is handled either by forum, Facebook group or via email. There’s no option to talk to a live support representative that I can find on their website. I will say that the response time on their official Facebook group is evidently very quick.

There’s also a “Support News Feed” which sounds like a great way to keep users informed of changes, except that it redirects to a Tumblr page with three posts on it. The first is from January 2nd, 2016, and then the other two from December 15th and December 27th, 2016. I guess it was a slow news-year at StreamSmart.

The lack of live, personal support is a big strike against StreamSmart. If I’m paying a premium price for something, I expect to be able to talk to someone in person when I have a problem.

ChannelUp.tv

Arguably the main benefit to buying a StreamSmart box is the lifetime subscription to ChannelUp.tv.

What is ChannelUp.tv? It is an IPTV subscription service which advertises “unlimited entertainment at your fingertips!” It appears that ChannelUp.tv is affiliated with StreamSmart, but I wasn’t able to confirm that, and they did not replay to my email question at the time of this writing.

Basically it’s a paid Kodi addon which has paid streams so it purposefully limits the number of people trying to get on to the streams at any time. In theory, you can get pay-per-view and premium channels as part of your subscription cost.

I won’t go into why I think these services are a bad idea here, but I will STRONGLY recommend using a VPN if you choose to subscribe to ChannelUp or any other service of this type. Even then, you probably won’t be protected when these finally become illegal to use. After all, they’ll already have your account information so they know where you live. 🙂

What I will do though, is show why – even with a lifetime subscription to ChannelUp.tv – either StreamSmart box is still insanely overpriced.

The image below is taken from ChannelUp.tv and shows the various pricing tiers for their service.

I will give them credit for offering a bunch of different ways to sign up with the service. You can have a 24 hour trial or choose to pay monthly, semi-annually, annually or even a one-time payment for lifetime access.

As you can see, ChannelUp.tv offers a lifetime subscription for $149.79.

Interesting…

The ChannelUp.tv service is available on different hardware, so you don’t need a StreamSmart box to use it.

So let me break out my calculator again:

StreamSmart S4:

$349

Value of Lifetime ChannelUp.tv subscription:

($149)

Total value of StreamSmart S4 hardware:

$200

StreamSmart PRO:

$449

Value of Lifetime ChannelUp.tv subscription:

($149)

Total value of StreamSmart PRO hardware:

$300

StreamSmart is overcharging their customers between $200-$300 per device!

Can I get it cheaper on eBay or Amazon?

You could, probably.

But…

StreamSmart goes out of their way to make it difficult to use anyone but their authorized resellers (more on that in a minute). In December 2015, they unceremoniously told their customers that any device purchased “on Amazon or eBay after 1/1/2016 are no longer covered under warranty, supported, and will be shut off.”

But don’t worry. If you happened to buy your device on eBay or Amazon and suddenly find yourself with a very expensive paperweight, StreamSmart will be happy to sell you another one of their devices with a small discount.

After all…they certainly have a healthy profit margin, right?

I cannot put into words how disgusted I am by this. If you are a manufacturer of a product, then you have the obligation to support your product no matter where it was purchased from.

That’s why a manufacturer’s warranty exists.

I will leave it to legal professionals to figure out if that is within the bounds of the law, but my opinion is that it’s a pretty scummy way to take care of your customers.

What does Team Kodi think about StreamSmart?

Ned Scott, the former Team Kodi member in charge of the Kodi Wiki, and Kodi developer Wrxtasy, who created the “Recommended Kodi Box” guide both chimed in on the StreamSmart box – and they didn’t mince their words.

In Ned’s words, “I know people need to make a profit, but the price they’re selling their product at is at scam-levels.”

Moderator Wrxtasy went even farther:

…this device is a GPL Open Source Violator box and actually illegal to sell in its current form. This sort of practice pisses Kodi developers and the Open Source community off no end. StreamSmart are freeloaders, actually stealing other people hard work unless they show us this modified Kodi code.

This is nothing more than an Illegal Scam Pirate Box, sold at a ridiculously inflated price to fool Mums and Dads and Joe public into thinking its legit.

Why are there so many websites promoting StreamSmart?

At this point, you might be wondering why there are so many websites promoting StreamSmart.

Well, it turns out they do it because they’re actually selling the StreamSmart boxes themselves.

StreamSmart promotes it’s reseller program directly on the front page of their website and promises an “average part-time income of $3,500” or a full-time income “exceeding $15,000!”

I wonder how they can make that much selling a Kodi box?

If you Google “StreamSmart” you can quickly find several of these resellers like StreamingSmart, Captain StreamSmart and MyFreeCable.tv.

To be fair, I’ll say again that I have nothing against small businesses or selling your knowledge for a fee. But when you’re deliberately price-gouging your customers…that’s where I draw the line.

Why are there no StreamSmart reviews?

That’s a really good question.

I tried searching for any StreamSmart reviews but could only find a few “unboxing” videos. There was nothing that I could see that would show any benchmark tests or experiences using the product other than basic interface.

It’s entirely possible that there aren’t any StreamSmart reviews because the box is so expensive. Many of the review sites just starting out purchase their own products for review. A box that costs $449 is much less likely to be reviewed than something that costs $50. More established reviewers will likely put the box through rigorous testing and that will be bad press for the company.

At this point, I think I’d recommend you buy anything other than a StreamSmart box.

I put out a list of what I think are the best Android boxes on the market. You could actually buy all three devices on that list for less than the cost of the StreamSmart PRO. If you’re looking for a good, cheap Kodi box, I’ve got some ideas on that too.

You shouldn’t be looking at a device that costs over $400 that isn’t cutting edge.

What should you do if someone tries to sell you a StreamSmart S4 or StreamSmart PRO?

Laugh…

..then walk away quickly.

Have you used a StreamSmart box? What do you think? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Tim, most people who buy streaming boxes, do not know shit, they are totally lost, So I don’t think there is anything wrong with StreamSmart selling their boxes for a little more, they are providing a service that almost all other boxes do not provide….Excellent web based support via Facebook..If it was not for StreamSmart most of these people would not be able to enjoy streaming. I am not a personal friend of anyone related to StreamSmart, I am just stating my opinion, Thank’s for letting me respond, Joe

The streamsmart is the best. I watch live TVs sports movies and tv shows with no problems. I used android boxes it was a headache adding just came for a week and gone. It was not reliable. STREAMSMART WORTH THE PRICE

Really? Get a clue. It’s not about hardware. It’s about premium content. That’s what Streamsmart sells. Doesn’t matter how cutting edge the hardware is. It’s as good as a door stop without reliable content and plenty of it. HD PPV events and HD TV from around the world. Just about every channel. Not to mention VOD. You don’t get that with any box loaded with Kodi and standard addons. The value is apparent and the volume of units sold don’t lie. Try in the hundreds of thousands..not dollars..units. Convert that to dollars and well… Lets just say somewhere in the neighborhood of a cool half million per month.. Profit!

I have to say this shit is good to go.Took it with me on vacation .I put it on the hotel HDMI Tele, open up the web browser on the smart box and inter the password .Bam! I’ve got every channels like at home.Hotel only limits what you can watch,but not with the streamsmart. Very happy with this machine.Ive tried stick and roku.To me it’s like night and day.Hands down this shit is as good as the hu days except it Do it get hit.lol

I have one. Lol I’m on it as we speak. If you’ve owned other droid boxes then you had to replace it…wonder why? Its cheap…we all know you get what you pay for. I wish it was cheaper of course but if ps5came out tomorrow,Sony would do the same.

It’s hard to believe that some people fall for this type of nonsense. I just purchased a new MXIII-G II Android TV box from Gearbest in China for less than $70 including shipping and insurance. It uses the latest S912 processor and has 2GB of ram and 16GB of eMMC storage.

It works flawlessly and would likely outperform either of these two overpriced boxes.

To be fair, you can get a box for 70 bucks elsewhere but it’s not gonna have channel up and a lot of the cheap boxes are Chinese clones. They are not cheap at $399 but offer a lot more than just free kodi streams with a proper TV guide, user friendly interface and great backup service

I got one from Buddies Home furnishings, they were charging $500 dollars a box. Its so not worth it if it is illegal. I did watch a few ppv fights for free and that does make the money back. but if I am going to get fined or jailed for this then I will be suing them. I don’t get why the ethernet wont work. It’s just not worth it. I am retiring it to the store. They should be jailed for steeling copyrighted material. You are right they told me it was legal. That there were no laws to prevent us from watching pay per view. Its says right on the pay per view that there are many laws. So I am done.

In many places, its legal to stream any content provided that you are not DOWNLOADING the content you are watching. If the Box doesn’t download the content then it should be legal in many jurisdiction.

If your jurisdiction doesn’t VERY specifically define the difference between “streaming” and “downloading,” you’re downloading. Streaming is literally downloading, displaying, and discarding, in that order.

Right. Any box CAN. But they don’t. And that’s the selling point. Mom has had one now since February 2018. Six months in, it’s already paid for itself. Remember, these boxes are for non techy people. Betcha every single person on here can figure out how to build their own KODI box. But my mom can’t, and she needs simple stupid tech products, and hundreds of millions of other people can’t build and support their own home grown KODI box, either. Sure, I can just be mom’s 24/7 tech support. No thanks. I have my own life to live. I don’t want to be everyone I knows tech support guy every time they can’t find what they want on TV. Maybe you do.

Your paying for customer service also. Weather. It be phone or in home service. Trust me it’s a great buy. This author is is seeing it from his view alone . That with lack of knowledge of other things… It’s the best box I’ve had. Not everyone knows exactly what to do with a basic Android box. They make it easy for us all. You have a problem or need help. Contact them or the person you bought the box from and get direct help. If you ask me the author is throwing a hissy fit because he missed the band wagon

It’s obvious by the way you wrote this that one would think the box is overpriced. Here’s what YOU LEFT OUT AND NOT SURE IF IT WAS PURPOSELY.
Streamsmart gives it’s users access to 6 PREMIUM ADD ONS that others pay 10 to 20 bucks per month for. So in essence you get a lot more VALUE than just a box with specs. Come on now we all know a box with specs and still a basic KODI build with no HD QUALITY TV is just another average box. These actually have A CESS TO PREMIUM LIVE HD QUALITY TV. Sorry you had the lack of information which obviously made streamsmart look bad. I’ve had many boxes and this by far runs circles around my mx8, zoomtak t8h, Nvidia shield as well. This box runs just about as fast as all of them because if the premium links for one. They respond and process the info almost instantly.

I was expecting some StreamSmart resellers to chime in fairly quickly, and I wasn’t disappointed.

But seriously, Charles, there’s just so much wrong in your comment that I don’t know where to start.

Just to let you know, I do my research before I dive into something – even responding to a comment. 🙂

First of all. showing your customer’s ChannelUp login and password in a YouTube video? Seriously??? So if anyone wants a free subscription to ChannelUp, by all means go check out “onewayagent” on YouTube. You won’t even need a StreamSmart box to get its biggest benefit!

Secondly, what’s with the cow theme on your website: Freetvnmovies.com? “The udder way to watch TV?”…..really?

Third…I can tell just by looking at your recent history that Android boxes is obviously just another get rich quick thing for you. MLM, options trading, “consulting”, and now TV boxes. I’m all for trying different things, but come on.

The bottom line is that the “””premium streams””” that StreamSmart and other sellers tout as the biggest benefit of their devices are TEMPORARY AT BEST. The people who run those services will close up shop at the first sign of trouble, taking your hard earned money with them.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Things that are “Free for a lifetime” usually have a very short lifetime.

Lol. Noone tucked their tail. My comment has already gotten me more business. I’m a legit person and don’t overcharge anyone. It’s amazing how you all will listen to a landslided review. Just like the guy that said something about zoomtak below. That’s how I can tell the real research has not been done. You know how many box sellers and developers have said they could get the same PREMIUM APPS YET THEY’VE ALL FAILED? WE NOW HAVE 8 PREMIUM APPS since my last post on here. Bottom line is WE ALL KNOW THAT PAID IPTV SERVICE is the way to go. If you pay 250 or 350 one time for a good device (not the one described above because that box is outdated) that has more than 1 IPTV service you’ve won. Let’s take you alls perspective and buy a cheap box for 60 bucks. Then what???? Take a gamble on 1 IPTV service and pray it continues to work and spend 10 to 15 bucks per month. Let’s pretend it works a while yr. You’ve now spent what I charge 1 time for life on a device. Again I know nothing is perfect which is why STREAMSMART STILL WINS. EVEN IF ONE IPTV SERVICE GOES DOWN we still have 7 other options to watch what everyone else WISHES THEY COULD FOR NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. You all keep IGNORING LOGIC TO BACK THE AUTHORS POST.
And to Tim!!
I like how you looked thru my you tube videos to determine you know me. 1st off I’ve done this for 4 yrs successfully. Started with zoomtak and mx boxes. They might have similar specs but we all know those don’t include PREMIUM IPTV SERVICES. What you see on YouTube is a glimpse of my business endeavors. Lol. You’re a funny guy that’s reaching and wanting to sound eloquent to your so called flock. It’s ok. My trucking company alone probably dwarfs what most on here do. Have a great day as well. I still CHALLENGE ANYONE WITH A BOX TO DO MORE AND PERFORM BETTER THAN THE PRO MODEL. I have an office and have challenged many other box sellers and not one to this day has been able to show me something better than the programming and content provided on these.

Isn’t that what you’re asking people to do with StreamSmart? You’re asking your customers to pray that the service doesn’t go belly up and they lose their money. Except if you gamble on 1 IPTV service, you’re spending $10-$15 a month, not $450.

If your paid services are so good, why do you need eight of them? Why not one that actually works like you’re advertising it?

Unfortunately I fell into purchasing a StreamSmart Pro. Worked flawless for the first 2 or 3 weeks. The add ons under premium have been down for several days and I don’t get half of what I used to get. Service nearly doesn’t seem to exist in getting help with problems. A live service chat bubble was taken down today and emailing them is worthless. So at this point I would agree that it’s value is far less than the purchase price.

StreamSmart it’s an overpriced System
I tested through Rent 2 Own Thank God I could return..
But still Not sure what other System I should get with certain Specs I’m looking for like: Dual WiFi..Bluetooth. 4.0 Amlogic S912 Octa Core Arm
Support Wireless keyboard..4k Compatible..2Gb-16Gb or 3Gb-32Gb
Android 7.1.2
Any Suggestions??
TIA

It’s amazing Tim won’t let me respond directly to him. What a classic joke. Channel up password was shown Sir because we don’t USE CHANNEL UP ANYMORE. THAT’S HOW OLD AND OUTDATED YOUR INFO IS. Streamsmart must have really made you mad…lol

Charles I have a stream smart pro box and love it,however you can do better than lie to get your point across you do use channel up.its currently down while maintanence is being done today is may 15 2017.and I am a fan of the box and use it everyday but keep it real this box does have problems and has them a lot but still is most likely the best box out thereally

Tim won’t let me comment. I’m just putting this there so his fans can see how 1 sided he is. I put plenty of great info out to clear his false information on these devices and not one time has a comment been left posted. He’s scared to get the truth out on his site. Smdh..What a joke.

I agree with android PC review these people will say anything to sell a overpriced box that runs old tech yes it may have premium add one but you can get a lifetime subscription for a one time fee which still puts all the boxes under the price then the stream box, as far as running faster then the Nvidia shield if you believe this well I got a bridge to sell to you I had a friend that needed his stream box fixed and could not get any support from the seller after fixing it I ran a bench score and could not get even 36000 score but yet the shrike scores on the 2017 model well over 100 thousand , when I was looking into the cording of the box tons of it was a direct copy of other much cheaper choices, example on Amazon at this time 1/30/2017 a zoomtak h8 runs the 905 x 2 gigs of RAM android 6 lifetime support and a it’s that works, even a Kodi updater that works, has AC wifi and made of metal only cost $62 us dollars , to me stream smart boxes are nothing more then a rip off and praying on people who are not aware they are being taken advatage of ,

Lol. If you really knew anything then you would know streamsmart devices come from the same company you’re speaking of. Lol. You obviously ran a test on an older streamsmart device. AGAIN WHILE YOU ALL ARE TALKING ABOUT SPECS THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE ZOOMTAK BOX ISN’T LOADED WITH THE CONTENT NOR DOES IT HAVE A WIZARD AND REAL PROGRAMMERS WHO CONTROL THE BOX. I USED TO SELL ZOOMTAK BOXES AND CAN TELL YOU EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW WITH THERE INTERFACE ETC. WHO DO YOU THINK THEY COPY FROM???? STREAMSMART DUHHHH!! WHY DO YOU THINK ON THE ZOOMTAK DEVICES THEY HAVE SPORTS ACCESS AND EVOLUTION IPTV AND IPTV MANIA YET THEY DON’T WORK BECAUSE YOU NEED A SUBSCRIPTION TO THEM??? IT’S BECAUSE THEY COPY STREAMSMART UPDATES. STREAMSMART JUST HAPPENS TO HAVE 8 PREMIUM APPS THAT HAVE PASSWORDS THAT SWITCH UP EVERY FEW WEEKS TO KEEP US FRESH. SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND YOU ALL ARE COMPARING SPECS WHEN I’M SIMPLY SHOWING YOU ALL THE CONTENT ON THE CHEAP BOXES IS ALL FREE BASIC BUILDS THAT AREN’T RELIABLE. NONE OF YOU CAN NAME A LIVE TV APP THAT’S LASTED THAT WASN’T PREMIUM. MOBDRO IS TRASH COMPARED TO WHAT WE OFFER. CCLOUD SUCKS ALONG WITH ALL OTHER FREE IPTV APPS.

Is ChannelUp the only premium addon you are using to reference StreamSmart? Channel Up once was the go to addon but no longer…StreamSmart has added some fantastic addons recently….The best one in my opinion is Evolution IPTV… Unless, you own and have thoroughly used the box, you won’t know how excellent this box is. The 449.99$ price tag for the Pro is a suggested retail…There’s no other quality filled content box like SS…

Need help!!!!!
On the topic of buying this item thru eBay.
I bought 3 boxes from local distributor for xmas gifts. Only needed 2, so sold 1 brand new on eBay. Buyer says eBay shuts off box. eBay has no way to do this.
Reached out to spencer troth. He was very rude & refuses to answer the question if he will refund or reactivate the box. Just keeps saying refund customer. Then let him know.
I understand that if u pay to distribute u can’t sell on any sites. A contract between troth & distributor.
I am NOT a distributor!
There is 1 distributor on eBay. Good reviews & troth isn’t blocking those ones.
My question is does troth pay a few people to buy on eBay from anyone but his seller.
Buyer buys box, gives him serial number on box, he deactivates?
He is strongly advising refund the buyer. But refuses to give a remedy if the box will be refunded? Reactivated ?
As of now, he & his “fake” buyer are the ones out the money.
There would have been no way for troth to get serial number unless the buyer gave it.

It would appear troth does this to make sure the paying distributors don’t under bid.
However once u give him the info, troth offers he will give u a new box with discount … for
200….

i bought this box when it was called kat-tv…then suddenly it changed to streamsmart…..i purchased it on january 17 2017 from amazon…..havent had many issues until i went to turn it on last week and everything was pretty much gone as far as any apps…home screen just says the word “OK”…tried a factory reset and after all of that it just goes back to the home screen that has the word “ok”…did the reset five or six times…always the same result….no premium apps…no apps period….dead!

lol Seriously? First of all, Kat-Tv is just a rebrand of the StreamSmart box and StreamSmart was around way before someone put the money up to start Kat-tv. The “OK” issue you are having is user error. You are not alone in the group of people that refuse to watch the tutorial videos or learn the very basics of the box. You see the word “OK”? Click OK on your remote. Then run the wizard and all your addons will be back. This is the very basic operation of the box. If you dont know the very basics, then you should not be complaining. Either way, there is nothing wrong with the box aside from what was said in this article.

Well…maybe we are dumb but bought 3 of the boxes from a distributor. Had a question and needed support and the guy at the support number we were given answered within the first few rings and answered our question. Maybe it depends on who you buy from?

i had a really bad customer experience with Toth, to the point that he couldnt solve my issue and he blocked me from the support group. i figure out the problem myself. in regards to the box. i do belive it is the best box out there as of now, as far as Spencer and his crew…. they suck.

I am one of the unfortunate people who bought a StreamSmart S4 on Amazon. It worked great for a couple of weeks, and then it was turned off by Streamsmart. I was told to return it to Amazon for a refund, but I missed the return window. Now I have a worthless box. My question is this: Can I download Kodi onto the box, and if so, how. I have tried to do this at Kodi.tv, and also tvaddons.ag, but I am told that my device is not compatable. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

The news/info “crawler” at the lower part of the screen tells you that if you bought your Streamsmart from unauthorized retailers such as Amazon/ EBay, that your box would be shut-off soon and to contact Streamsmart and they will tell you how to correct your situation! It’s the first thing you see! No offense but, don’t blame Streamsmart because you didn’t act on there offer. Alan. P.S. This article is a TOTAL LIE! I am a 3+ year user of Streamsmart and unless youre a computer designer/programmer/engineer and have plenty of time to keep your box updated and going (oh, and the Premium addons too), YOU BETTER BUY A STREAMSMART ! You turn it on and it always works!!! NO OTHER BOX OFFERS THIS !

Where can you buy a StreamSmart right now besides Amazon, eBay and NewEgg? Their website is down and has been for weeks. The company is belly up and everyone’s trying to sell off their old stock at a loss. There’s nobody to maintain all of these subscriptions that they advertized were “free for life.” That’s why you see comments here from other users saying the wizard is broken and streams are failing.

No matter what, for a company to deliberately brick boxes that were bought from third party sellers is shady at best, and criminal at worst. If you have a business, you have a responsibility to your customers – no matter how they bought the product.

The box specs are very much the same as most boxs that are much much cheaper, you can’t make it into a super dooper hyper box just by adding a paid iptv sub, I have a box with the latest cpu etc that cost £45 and I get a paid iptv sub for $5 a month for 3000+ channels that very rarely go down so how on earthritis can this box be anything other than a scam!!!!! It’s WAY over priced and obviously meant to rip ppl off that don’t have much knowledge in this field and yes my paid iptv sub has 24 hour support straight to an admin…..the price of this box is totally ridiculous and I’ve set up many many ppl personally with not 1 person being upset except for wondering what to do with all their spare cash

I can see that you are very passionate about how unfair the price is on this box. Do you own one? I own 3.

I’ve tried Roku, Apple Tv, and finally Firestick. I got a build, side loaded it after countless hours of trying to figure out how (after all, not everyone knows what you know), only to have a glitchy experience at best. Did more research, and found my way to a s905 4k MXQ box thinking that all I needed was a little horsepower to make things work. It even came “preloaded” with a bunch of addons. Worked a little bit better than the firestick, but not much. Finally I got a StreamSmart. Spoke to a local reseller, cut a deal for less than the listed price (apparently the website price is high to push people to local sellers for support and promotions) and have never looked back. It just works, like 99% of the time, which is more than I can say for any of the options I’ve tried with all the builds from beast to wookie and even my own mismatched effort. Whenever I have needed help, I simply go to their facebook group and ask. Someone always answers within minutes and my issue gets solved.

Further, I would ask that you consider the average person before making such bold claims as to something’s worth or value. To me, all 3 units have paid for themselves several times over. I like being able to come home and just turn it one and it works, unlike ALL of your examples and my previous attempts. I like having access to private servers that don’t kick you out or pixelate. I like have the home screen laid out for me so I can simply navigate to what I want to watch. You may have time to mess around with a cheaper box and maybe you don’t need support, but the average person for whom you write more than likely does not.

So all you’ve really done is write a hatchet piece that discredits another company. I’m sure I’ll get the whole “you work for StreamSmart” but actually, I’m an insurance agent, and if there is one thing I know when I see it is fraud. Which is basically your writing. Your self-aggrandizing piece is nothing but “look at me”.

You are obviously entitled to your opinion, and on the surface I can see how you would feel the way you do. But judging from what you have written, it is obvious that you have not actually used the box or else you would probably be singing its praises like I do. Temporary or not, I choose my StreamSmart 10 times out of 10

I have to agree with you. I bought one on a whim from a reseller. I grilled the guy about the processor, network speed, memory, connectivity and tv options. I did this in front of a very large crowd of interested buyers at a local retail show where I bought it. I wondered about its legality and even call Cox cable and asked about the Kodi box because to me getting something for nothing seems dubious. Well Cox said they didn’t have a problem with it. I had previously cut my cable which was $225 a month for three different tiers to watch 4 channels in digital High Def. I first subscribed to Sling.TV at the beginning. I had doubts about that too but for $25 per month with 40+ channels that I had to paid hundreds for previously, it was a good buy. Still there were the 4 premium channels I couldn’t get with Sling. Enters Streamsmart. I paid $360 for an S4. My reasoning was that if I could get the 4 premium tier channels I had with Cox the box would pay for itself in 60 days. To my joy I was able to get them “FREE” from several locations using the Streamsmart. I also discovered I can get just about any movie I want to watch FREE as well. Now taking into account it cost me $20 just to got see a movie with my wife, this was great! I have now had the box for 4 months. As far as I am concerned the access I have to the channels I want and movies has paid for itself twice over and continues to do so. I am happy with it. Are there down sides to this, sure. Sometimes there is buffering and timeouts but I just switch to a new source and continue on. I will say a Streamsmart box is not for the “tech novice” out there. You definitely need to have some knowledge and experience with computers, electronics and internet to have a good experience. Once set up right it works great. I can even use DNLA and mirroring from my home network to the device and watch my media collection on tv. Yes, the upfront cost is expensive but I believe what you get in return is well worth it. Will it be around a year from now? Who knows but in the meantime I don’t think it can be beat. Oh, get the Real Debrid subscription too at $18 US for 6 months. The access to high speed dedicated servers is well worth it.

As for the detractor(s), all I keep hearing and reading about is how expensive it is. Well, maybe so, but it sounds to me they whine about it because they cant afford it, wont afford it or have some other issue that they have taken the “high moral ground” on. IF they could do it better and cheaper, knock yourself out and show the rest of us how to get the same service we get with a Streamsmart faster, cheaper and better. I am willing to convert if they can do that. In the meantime I will stick with the Streamsmart. It works and gives me exactly what I want and it has paid for itself in a short amount of time.

I’ve been considering buying the pro for a while. The reviews on I read on Amazon have been mixed. Another box I’m considering is the Rveal. While the specs aren’t as good as the Streamsmart Pro box all the reviews I’ve read have been very positive. They have phone customer service in the US. People say it’s expensive but how much is cable? I’m pauing $125 a month. So in 3,4 months I’d break even.
What premium (paid) addons does the Streamsmart come with?
Does it have a tv guide?

All I can say is I have a streamsmart, paid $265 and never paid another penny to watch any movie, PPV event, live TV including live local TV. I don’t know what “other” content streamsmart wants you to pay for that you mention, but I have everything and more than all the other boxes you mention without issue or additional money and my streamsmart has already paid for itself many times over with what I’ve been able to watch. When I have a question I get an immediate response either from the FaceBook page or the seller. I need no other subscriptions nor need to pay any additional money. Streamsmart is far and above the best straming box out there!

No actually u can download a build from developer where all the apps work and load and movies autoplay or u can even get a premium customised build for $20.00 from other kodi builders and its lets say better cause it has everything u want and skins and toolbars and it automaticly updates just like almost every other build and wizard and who runs android kitkat still outdated garbage !! Were on android 7.1 not 5 and were using octacore processors!! your not using kodi anymore uhuh when your using media player funny thing when your downloading media player in upper left corner next to media player text it still has blue k kodi icon !!! Nice try!!! Your no different than people selling firesticks for $100 overcharging for same stuff !!exodus specto phoenix one242415 zem evolutioniptv goodfellas2.0 sportsreplay bob sportdevil zen pac12 star taboo stunner sports sportacess realstream beau’s place wolf alpha 1904 streams guess what i have all this and more i have 6 builds on my android box i paid $ 60 dollars for ive seen your videos march 2017 and mine loads a movie 3 seconds so u might need fix your equipment or talk to your programmers and i have 897mb zip build so i think its both kitkat s905!!!!

As to the initial posters question… depends. Again, if you go to Alibaba you can find the exact same box (and even better ones) and buy direct from the manufacturer (most don’t even restrict the quantity and the most you will pay is about $60). They will build your own custom box, with your own custom logo, with your own customized Kodi (media player), and they will warranty your box for one year. They have a support team who “checks the links” (just like StreamSmart and all the other boxes claim). Basically you are paying the middle man for nothing more than being “Sticker on a Box” people (and they don’t even put the sticker on the box!). Need that warranty… great… send it to the middle man (who overcharged you to begin with) and he will happily give you one of his “on supply” boxes from the latest shipment while he prepares a shipment of any other boxes that need to be returned under warranty. He is so nice isn’t he? He will then ship it back in bulk to claim the warranty for you (that’s what you are paying $$$ for). The only value they add is “customer service” (which is severely lacking).

Basically, you are paying a bunch of self-centered “entitled” punks to play the middle man for you (when you could do it yourself just as easy). They take advantage of the fact that most people think it is “hard” or too complicated. How hard is it to pick up the phone or go online and place an order or ask a question to the supplier? That “crack team” of developers is also the manufacturer. Think StreamSmart (or any other premium box for that matter) has a group of guys sitting in cubicles who are constantly checking connections?… think again… you probably guessed it by now… it is the manufacturer. Want to add some new features? Pick up the phone and call the manufacturer… that’s it period. Seriously… it is that easy (and there are plenty of websites that put you in direct contact with manufacturers). You don’t have to be a coder, designer, or technical wiz kid… just tell the manufacturer what you want and there you go (with all the same warranty). So if you like paying $450 to join a private FB Support group which is moderated by a bunch of A-holes who can’t take any criticism… then be my guest.

…and one other thing… the only reason StreamSmart is all over the place on the internet isn’t because it is a quality box. It is because they are taking it to the next level (and not in a good way). They are turning it into a multi-level marketing scam… buy our box and if you like it, you can sell our box… become a reseller today! They are trying to become the Amway, Mary-Kay, Zrii of the new millennium. So don’t be fooled into thinking it is all over the place because it is “good.” It is all over the place because the original guys who started it realized they move up a level and sell to resellers instead of direct to the customer… and those resellers are buzzing about like flies on s**t!

I bought the S4 box a few months ago. It really works well and I have no complaints about the box. I am new to android boxes and was blown away at the different types of boxes that are out there. I have learned that the StreamSmart boxes are definitely overpriced. I am in the market for getting another box. I have researched and found that the SkyStream One box is much better than my S4 and is much cheaper in price. It also has 4K capabilities that the S4 does not. Thanks, Tim for the information. It’s an eye opener.

I also want to add to my last comment that I like the automatic updates to Kodi, warranties and the customer service option. I don’t mind paying a little more for these options. That’s why I’m looking at the SkyStream One.

I have both the Skystream and the Streamsmart. The Skystream is more user friendly but I prefer the Smartstream. Its a better box. I also owned a Tickbox and a couple of others with stupid names that were all $100 or less.
I threw two out and gave the rest away. You get what you pay for. I paid far less than suggested retail. Do your research.

So what are the most recommended streaming devices? I just “chatted” with one of StreamSmart’s online representatives and they were saying how I would get Netflix and Hulu for free as well as all current movies and tv shows that my cable provider has.

I purchased the SkyStream One box for my son’s birthday. It supports 4K and has some of the same specs as Streamsmart Pro Model which cost about $449. I paid $149.99 for the SkyStream One and I am planning on getting one for myself because I have a 4K TV and the Streamsmart S4 does not support 4K.

Hey guys. First off, I’m not affiliated with nor do I own a Streamsmart and I certainly have no intention of promoting Streamsmart.I just hope to shed some light. Second, it really isn’t fair to pass judgement when you haven’t owned and used the product. Ignorant is the first word that comes to mind.
Here’s the deal. I am in the business and sell Digixstreams. Streamsmart is a rebadged Digixstream. Digixstream has the box manufactured and branded for SS. Same boxes, same manufacturer. The Digixstream sells for half the price at around $175 lower model and $225 upper. While the specs may be the same as many other Android boxes, these boxes are actually made very well. Truly solid, high quality hardware and very good custom firmware with regular OTA updates. The defect ratio is extremely low but all that really doesn’t justify the high price of Streamsmart. The real value like it or not is in the included premium add-ons/IPTV.
I have had my finger on the pulse of Streamsmart since day one, and have to say the guy has done a great job of delivering what’s promised and more. I have spoken with many owners and they can’t say enough. I’ve also borrowed a box to test and see for myself. This is not just a box with paid sub content. It’s a marketing machine that’s part of a well thought out and skillfully executed business plan. Yes it seems overpriced, but it is really? After all, people don’t buy boxes, people buy content and or the promise of.
There are at least 5 serious premium additions that provide a ridiculous amount of HD content. Were talking about ALL TV and PPV Events in HD with zero buffer. Lets do the math assuming there are only 5 sources of premium content. Channelup is actually $20 per mo. I know because I have it. For the record they look to be down as of a few days ago, but they have been running strong for over 2 years. I won’t mention the other services for reasons of privacy, but they are also in the $20 per mo. range. There’s usually a discount for 1 year subs, so lets say $50 each for a year, together makes $250 in value for 1 year. Even if you lose half of the content over the next year for a value of $175, you now have a total value of $425 + the hardware. You really can’t lose. Everything after that is gravy. Furthermore, the Distributors are happy and motivated because they have something valuable to sell and can actually make some money.
SS pays an average of $75 a unit and wholesales them for around $150. After the extra content cost and other expenses, he’s profiting about $40 a box. It’s the Distributor that’s pushing the sale and also making the bulk of the margin. A perfect business plan in my opinion and the proof is in the numbers. Lets just say $100’s of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue for our boy Spence.
It doesn’t matter how much less you can get equal spec hardware for. The only thing that matters is that the customer is happy with their purchase and that the sellers are happy with their margin. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. You can’t grow a business to level that he has unless the product delivers. I don’t feel it’s right to give out close to exact numbers, but let’s just say there are at least 100,000 Streamsmart customers. They can’t all be idiots! A quick search online reveals that there are almost no complaints from buyers. There can only be one conclusion when you have all the facts. I don’t think I need to spell it out any further.
I do want to add that I personally don’t like some of the tactics SS has used for price control, but I’ll be the first to admit that it works. The key to SS’s control is the MAC address. Every box is tracked from the moment is arrives in the US. A database links every box to the Distributor, then to the consumer. Much of the premium content is authorized using the MAC and other data from buildprop. Although the boxes can be disabled remotely using this info, I’ve only heard of the 1 instance mentioned in a post above. My guess is that is was done to prove that it can be done in order to keep control which means continued high profits.
You have to ask yourself, aside from the potential legal aspects, has Streamsmart really done anything wrong? Sure makes ya think, don’t it.

Hi Jay. Thanks for the well thought out comment. I appreciate the dialogue and (unlike some of the other StreamSmart fans on here) you actually make some good points.

I’ll give you two points. First, the box is incredibly well marketed, and they seem to target people who are sick and tired of paying too much for cable (aren’t we all?), but don’t have any reservations about the legality. I’m not going to get on a soapbox about that one way or the other. People can make their own decisions about piracy and that’s not for me to say one way or the other. Second, I don’t believe they’ve done anything “”wrong””.

But that doesn’t mean that I think they should be able to price the device the way they do without someone calling them out on it.

My main problem with all of the boxes that follow this model is that you’re paying for the service. IF it works out the way you’re detailing, then yes, you are getting a value. But I want to stress that there are two HUGE risks with paying for services which are, to be blunt, illegal. Sooner or later those services will come crashing down. Most of them revolve around one or two people keeping the content updated. If they decide to quit, the service stops working. That could happen next week or next year. We don’t know.

Also, think about Napster, Popcorn Time, Pirate Bay, and I can go on and on. The end users of all of these services ended up being sued for watching or downloading content. Is that really a risk you want to take? That PPV movie isn’t worth it IMO.

Streamsmart may not have done anything “wrong”, but then again, neither did Mylan when they jacked up the price of the EpiPen. It’s still price gouging, no matter how you look at it.

Maybe a great observation but the math is wrong on what streamsmart pays for the boxes. Streamsmart doesn’t pay $75 for the boxes (maybe if they bought one box at a time). They buy the boxes for far less because they buy them in bulk (probably $20… I’ll give them some credit that they may actually pay more than a $1 a box based on customizations that the manufacturer charges more for… but that is being generous). So when they sell the box wholesale for $150 they are certainly making more than $40/box. Could anyone stay in business with that ratio of profit? I promise you it is not that close. Me no think so… So the quantity discount is what gives streamsmart it’s greatest profit base.

I can only tell you my experience! Bought this box in November 2016 and love it. Live Tv works with very little to no buffering at all and so many channels and movies!! I am happy with and love this box!

Well I did buy the box recently and now that I got the hang of it I love it. But I even asked on the support FB page why are there SO many issues. I quickly realized the technology is outdated and even I know there has to be something better out there. I struggle with the box every time I use it, very frustrating!!! Everyone talks about how bad Streamsmart is but I’ve hear anyone speak about the better alternative.

Now I’m all confused. Was about to buy a steam smart for 300.00 and this article has me second guessing myself. I was ready to cancel my direct tv and use this system to save me some money every month. Is there a better system at a cheaper price? Im one confused man now..

Omg Tim, I had my best laugh lately… I am following from time to time your blog and this article got my attention…:)

You don’t know what you are loosing if you don’t purchase their “state-of-the art” products. Man, like they are saying, their website is the place “where smart people shop”.
You can easily replace your Nvidia and Minix U1 with these jewels. Real value for money, come on…And Live TV in HD, uuuugh….

I couldn’t resist, got these boxes plus two AudioQuest Diamond 16m (52.49 feet) Braided HDMI Cables that I just ordered from Amazon (best value for money, only 13.k USD each) will amazingly get connected to my best 65″ Sony CRT TVs in the basement & attic. Can’t wait to see all of them connected & my st Live TV in HD from these wonderful guys.

Wait, have to get some more water to calm down my hick ups… too much laughing…

Great job with your reviews, keep on going!
Cheers from someone across the ocean, somewhere in Europe…;)

Not going to get technical with this. I will keep it simple.. I’ve had a Streamsmart S4 is for a year now. Since then, I have watched about 5 live pay-per-view shows for free. Quality is fantastic and I got to see the live action of pay-per-view UFC. I also enjoy watching literally any television show or movie I want with no problem. I paid one time for it and it is still going strong. My parents, wife’s parents, and five of my friends have since then purchased one and everyone loves it. You can’t beat a one time payment compared to paying $150+ for cable each month. Streamsmart investment is well worth it.

TIm again you are so far from KNOWING the whole deal. We do not have passwords to SHARE other than the OLD CHANNEL up app that is NO LONGER SUPPORTED. 2ndly I see now that others have shed light on this convaluted post of a bad opinion. You keep comparing SPECS of boxes which we all know is IRRELEVANT !!

In that case, you’re more than welcome to trade your computer in for a mint-condition 486-DX running Windows 95. 🙂

Joking aside, specs are VERY important. It’s why your computer or smartphone get slower as you install newly created apps on them. New software is designed with new hardware in mind. If your old tech with inferior specs doesn’t have the power to run it, then the system is going to grind to a halt.

Have been debating getting this. Can someone please suggest which “ other “ device is better? We definitely are tired of the high priced cable costs.. not to mention the many,many networks we do not even watch. Sports… and a few other channels.. we would love to hear about the one to buy, as this review is totally steering us away from the Streamsmart…thanks..

the real crooks are the cable companies, id rather have my streamsmart then a 150 cable bill, yea there are cheaper options out there, i had that fire stick for awhile, but it buffered half the time, and the guy who sold it to me wanted to charge me $25 every time to update it, so i got a cheetah stream, no customer support what so ever, and lacked any sports or live tv options. after wasting my money on “cheaper” boxes I’m satisfied with my streamsmart.

Tim, again thank you for the great help you give to us, I have followed your reviews for some time and find very useful. I couldn’t agree more that this box is a rip off BIG TIME and of course many people think more money for a product means a better product which is not always true. This Stream (not) Smart is a perfect example of more money doesn’t equal better product. My brother and I each bought SkyStreamX boxes a little more than a year ago. While at $150 was a little high after reviewing and having all we wanted and a very good customer response I’m way happy with our choice. Only think that I didn’t like is it was replaced in no time with a new box with a new name, not sure why but that’s what happen. I do wanna add that I am still happy overall with SkyStream and would buy other product from them. You were also very helpful with questions we had in the beginning, although again the customer service with SkyStream is very good and have fast response time to solve any problems I have had. For the most part problems have been caused by us the end users which is not uncommon. I can’t stress enough how great it is to have you as a source of help with these things, your hard work is greatly appreciated by me along with many others. Thanks again.
MIKLO

I am new to all of this and don’t understand all the technical jargon.

I just purchased an S3 through my husband’s boss for $100. Guess I still got ripped a new one, just not as bad. However, I am not seeing major problems with our Streamsmart. It glitches some and we’ve had to reset the box a few times. But as I said, we are new to all of this. We were on the hook to our tv provider to the tune of $160 per month and just dropped down to $53 with the bare bones package. I have a Roku in my bedroom and we have the SS in our living room. I just don’t know what to do, was thinking about buying another box for my bedroom and giving my daughter the Roku, but now I don’t know. I really don’t understand what you all are talking about with this being so bad, other than the outrageous price, which I didn’t pay.

As far as it being illegal, I am under the impression that as long as you don’t download any content, it’s as legal as can be. What’s the difference between using the box or watching all of this directly from the internet, it’s streaming content and once it’s on the internet, it’s out there. I’m not saying I agree with people sitting in theaters with their phones and recording movies and putting them out there is ok, but once it’s on the net, it’s fair game for anybody who has access.

In conclusion, I would just like to understand this article a little better and be able to make up my mind as to what I want to do.

I know if my comments don’t get posted I’ll spend the cash to BLAST THIS SITE. I was being nice about it but for to accept the bashing responses and won’t post mine is PATHETIC and I’ll definitely spend the money in SEO to EXPOSE your cap of selling cheap Chinese boxes based on specs and not content. Play fair at least.

Charles, I understand this may be somewhat of a new concept for you…Comments are placed in a moderation queue before they’re posted. That makes it hard for someone to, oh I don’t know, use multiple email addresses and spam the site. Cough…like you did…cough.

Now let me ask everyone else: Is this the person you want to buy from? Is this professional? Do you trust him as a StreamSmart distributor to fork over $450 and hope that he is there to support you?

None uses Channel Up anymore!! That’s how old his information is. We have 8 premium apps now that are pretty doggone good. It’s amazing he’s saying stay away from IPTV SERVICE but promotes another svc that’s 15 bucks per month??? Hmmmmm. So these people say buy a cheap box for 60 or 70 bucks then pay 200 plus per yr to have the IPTV on the cheaper box. What sense does that make when you can have 1 box that plays 8 premium IPTV apps at no ADDITIONAL CHARGE?? I’LL POST IN HERE EVERYDAY JUST SO THE PEOPLE CAN SEE THE TRUTH BEFORE HE DELETES AGAIN.

Tim you look so dumb now!!! I guess you have not saw the review site looking just like yours. Lol. I told you I was the wrong one to mess with. You put bad info out on me as well??? We have screenshots of all comments that were deleted and recreated your page so PEOPLE WOULD SEE THE TRUTH..You’re so wrong in your content plus the fact you’re 1 sided makes your credibility go right down the tube. Are you scared I’ve been sharing the TRUTH AND NOW PEOPLE WERE COMING TO ME TO PURCHASE FROM YOUR POSTS SO YOU TOOK MY COMMENTS DOWN. I WILL HAUNT YOU FOR DOING THE PEOPLE WRONG.

Nope. I have not “saw” the review site looking just like mine. Everything I said about you is things that you put out there for the world to see on your own YouTube channel. And again, the comments weren’t “taken down”, they were just waiting for me to approve. Big difference.

On a different note, I’d actually be really interested in seeing that site you put up. What’s the URL?

Hi Tim – Sorry to break up the fight between you and Charles 🙂 but I have a real question…

I haven’t seen in your writings that the product doesn’t work or deliver on its promises. If it is up there in the thread then I apologize. All I see is that it is too expensive.

Here is my issue – I was a breath away from buying this product, until I read this article, because my wife LOVES UFC and we buy all of the PPVs so it would be easy to recoup the $450. Frankly I am still leaning toward buying the StreamSmart Pro because I don’t know any different. A friend said she loves it and it works great for her so she has my wife hooked.

The money isn’t an issue for us so help me understand why I should not buy this box other than the principle of paying an outrageous amount for free PPV. Is there another box that will also give PPV channels and also allow me to watch my in market baseball games?

I have looked at all the comments here and tend to agree with most. I have no clue how to program a box.Yes the SS is expensive. Yes it has almost instant customer support in addition to a FAQ area for self help. Hardware is getting outdated. Who could keep up with it as fast as its moving. I’m not buying a new one every 3 months when techys learn a new trick. I have updated my SS from a 3 to a pro. Guess what my Channel up moved with it. Although I don’t use it much. I don’t think they promise one add-on for life but he live tv where ever they can get it. So far so good. I figured the price was covered by not paying cable for 3 months. After that profit. Ya the shield is better but I don’t game and that’s what it is for. If you want flawless tv SS is the way. Support auto updates and great content. I wish I had an auto mechanic so reliable..

Everyone thinks the Shield is a gaming system, but that’s only part of it. It has official 4K support for Netflix and YouTube. You can count the number of boxes that have that on one hand.

I’m glad you’re happy with the StreamSmart. Honestly. But your analogy about buying a new box every three months isn’t really accurate. The StreamSmart is 1-2 years out of date. By the time you recoup your investment, you’re looking at three year old technology. If you’re still excited about paying four times as much for something that old, then there’s not much I can say to change your mind.

i gave a $50, which i custom programmed myself to a friend of mine. this friend has a top of the line stream smart box. he uses my box on one tv and the streamsmart on another tv in the same house on the same internet connection. i programmed the box with the free add on build pulse ccm. i also added a few more add ons all free. there is not one channel, that anyone watches, that is not on my pulse ccm box. they play perfectly and my $50 box updates itself every couple of weeks.

dont buy a streamsmart its a rip off. you are paying for a multi market scam system.

So do you get the SportsAccess account for life? It’s normally $12/month. What about ChannelUp? Wolf? That’s what I have my StreamSmart. But if you get it for free also, please advise how to get one of your boxes.

Moonlights – seems you are a programmer and therefore find it all easy to do. I myself know nothing and have been reading everyone’s comments. What one person see’s as easy another gets upset and throws everything across the room (that’s me). I would love to take Tim’s advice and go to a manufacturer and custom build a box but not sure what they will want from me to begin the process. And, Adrian’s cables …clearly needed to get the best picture, I’m guessing. So far I know that you need an andriod box to stream and then an IPTV subscription service… correct?

Tim, I’m an electrical engineer, software developer and I’ve designed boards from scratch, built a ton of machines from bare motherboards, Linux, windows, etc. I’m not your average reader.

I also try to use the English language correctly, and I appreciate others that do, too. There are a few who have done so in these comments and I’m thankful.

CJ, I believe you have tried to make some points, but you lost me based on your own one sided rants as well as your problematic use of the language, bragging and caps lock. Tone it all down and you will sway even more people.

Tim, I appreciate where you are coming from. Over priced old specs isn’t ok, and neither is the business model.

I offer a slightly different take on things…

I write software. What does it mean to steal my software? Just because someone else stole it, some people feel ok to just use the pirated copy because of a loop hole?

If, as everyone says, the value is in the content, I totally agree! So why is it ok to take it for free? That, by definition, is making it worthless. Does that make purchasers smart? I don’t think so. I guess most may not know where the content originates. Or they don’t care, which is their choice.

Me? I respect other people’s work product. I cut the cord from cable a couple years ago and I pay for what I want legally.

Hi Mike. Thank you for the obviously well thought out comment. My best friend is also a software developer, so I’ve heard your argument before. I think a lot of people today focus on the “big faceless cable company” charging them a fortune every month and forget about all the little guys that it affects.

Mike,
I appreciate your comments and agree. What I appreciate most is your ethical standings on the whole “sharing of content”. I would appreciate if you could reach out to me, I’d like to speak with you about a professional and “legal” matter. I can be reached at davguy@rocketmail.com. If the info is removed, please reach out to Tim for my contact info. Tim, I thank you for your input and efforts, it sounds like we have a common mindset. However, from being in the CE business for quite a while, I’ve come to realize that a “good deal” is usually based on the “buyers’ response to the product and if “they” feel they received what they paid for. Thank you for looking out for us.

Mike Jensen thank you thank you thank you for saying that, especially the grammar statement. Please, everyone try your best to write in a manner that is coherent, especially to many of us who are not technically gifted. Keep in mind that many of us are first time buyers in this area of streaming content, and all the tech jargon is a bit too much for us novices.

The article was about price and value with cheaper better options. I have been reading everyone’s comments and I’m more confused than I was when I started. My issue and some of my friends’ issue is we’re abroad or about to be (as in, not in the USA). We cannot get most network/cable channels and current tv shows in Europe.

However, one friend of mine who’s in Germany, now can get all US tv network stations with his StreamSmart Pro, which he couldn’t before unless he purchased each specific series on Apple iTunes. He doesn’t have to pay for any streaming fees with StreamSmart Pro. That, to me, sounds Like a great deal even for the high cost.

Netflix in Europe is not Netflix in the USA. Some shows/movies are offered in USA, but not in Europe. With his StreamSmart Pro he doesn’t have that problem anymore. Hulu doesn’t stream current CBS shows; Hulu doesn’t stream any CW shows; he cannot even use Hulu in Europe; and DC Universe can only be watched with a $7.99/month or $75/year subscription; however, his StreamSmart Pro offers all of those sites’ programming in real time, in a foreign country, with no additional fees.

So I ask of you Tim, if you know for a fact you CAN do all that I mentioned with these other box devices you recommend for less; not have to pay for streaming monthly subscriptions; and function in another country outside the USA, please let us know.

Why can no one articulate coherent sentences here? I don’t own a StreamSmart but am doing a little research on it because I have talked to a few people that have gotten them and they are absolutely thrilled with them. The problem is, I don’t know which side people are arguing half the time because their posts seem to be written by a 3rd grader walking into Grammar 101 for the first time. Tim, you are coherent enough and Jay seems to have a good grasp of the English language, but that is about it. Charles, I really want to buy one of these boxes but your obnoxious rambling and constant use of Caps Lock makes me want to bang my head against a wall and never think of a StreamSmart box again. You’re wearing a shirt and tie in your picture. Makes me think you have some kind of ability to communicate in the real world but I suppose that could all be a farce.

Bottom line, I am not a techy person by any stretch of the imagination, and was looking to gain a little insight into this product after hearing about it for the first time three days ago. After deciphering as much as I could out of these posts, it seems like most people that have purchased the StreamSmart have been very happy with them and its performance. As all of us in here, I am sick of paying the cable company outrageous prices every month for less content than what seems like the StreamSmart can provide.

The REAL PROBLEM (shout out Charles) is that the English language seems to be dying a slow and painful death. I’m not even a language or grammar enthusiast. I’m just trying to make sense of some comments in a forum. Good luck to all and happy viewing.

Honestly, I just want to make sure that people are informed consumers. I’m happy that Jay and others are happy with their StreamSmarts. If you buy one too, then I wish you nothing but the best of luck with it.

But at the same time, I have to do my part to make sure people know what they’re getting into. You’re not paying $400+ for the box. You’re buying the service. A service that StreamSmart cannot control.

go to ali express order a top of the line android box. cost about $50. make sure it has kodi 16.1, dual wifi and 2gb rom 16 gb ram and dual antenna, and android 5.1. when you get the box hook it to the net connection. open kodi which is on every chinese made box. add the ares wizard. then, in ares wizard, go to builds and add pulse ccm build. booooooooooooom

you now have every channel in hd that is on a top of the line streamsmart box. your new box will update everyday. boooooooooooooooom you just saved about $400.

Bought two. Turns out i have an older TV that does not accept a. HDMI cable. I tried using the av wires since there are jacks for them on the box. The picture that came up was so jumpy I could not even see what the picture was.
Next I tried it on a newer TV with the HDMI cable. The picture that came up was not what was shown in the how to videos. I finally did get a TV channel with a good picture but it kept buffering. It would play for about 8 seconds then freeze and buffer for about 10 seconds. This continued for about thirty minutes until I stopped it and continued trying to get it set up correctly. After working with it for about 3 hours I gave up.
Next morning I watched the instructional videos again an continued trying for several hours
I guess it is just too smart for me

You need to take into consideration you bandwidth. Check what your service is then count up how many things you have hooked up to your WiFi. This includes cell phone iPad. WiFi TV, WiFi security cameras, WiFi thermostats etc. All these devices use bandwidth then when you try to stream movies or Live TV some systems just cannot handle it without buffering.

Great points. That’s one of the reasons why I upgraded my router. It’s not that my computer needed faster Internet, it’s because I kept adding more and more devices that kept taking little pieces of the pie. All those little slices add up and soon my connections were grinding to a halt.

I think you guys take this too far. All these boxes will be junk in 2025 anyway. As I have mention things change. So I am having a great time with my Streamsmart boxes before they do and they also do. Just like TV’s & Flat screens. Such is life.

To the author, what is your top recommendation for the best, most legal way to use a box to watch live tv/sports? Keep in mind I am in no way, shape or form computer literate and the idea of building anything is simply not an option. I need a plug and play device that is simply a sit down, turn it on, search for the show/game I want to watch, select it and watch type thing. I’m looking for something as simple as satellite, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu without spending $150 a month. Does that device exist? Where I live I cannot get live tv through antenna, so I have to have some sort of device just to watch my local news/weather.

Something that gets you satellite, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu for less than $150? Easy.
To replace Satellite\Cable: Sling TV ($20, $25 or $45 depending on what package) per month
Netflix: 4 screens, 4K content $12.99 per month
Amazon Prime: $8.25 per month, but I wouldn’t even count it because of all the free shipping that you’re going to get
Hulu: $8, I think, per month (I don’t use Hulu)
NEver having to look over your shoulder for legal notices: Priceless 🙂
Total: $66 for a complete, legal, cable replacement that ALWAYS works.

I dropped my $180/month cable habit in November 2015 after i purchased a Smartstrem S4 box. Yup, the box included a remote and a keyboard, and cost me $430 direct from San Diego. Then I hired a company to install a TV antenna on my roof, to the tune of $540. So i ended up spending almost a grand to make sure I had all my bases covered. I figured if the S4 would last 6 months i would be ahead of the game.

And now 18 months later I’m close to $2500 ahead of the game! Much better return on investment than most of my investments….

Speed and quick performance are not always the most desireable traits — think sex….

So what benefit did I get for buying such an expensive Andoid box? I got a box that worked with all its goodies already loaded up, I didn’t have to waste my time trackimg down and installing a myriad of software, And then hope and pray my kluge would work. I wanted technical support for BOTH the hardware and software from one vendor. And for me I liked the fact that the company was in my county — no language issues, and a strong customer support, including a Facebook page.

This was more important to me than a clock speed difference of 2.4 vs. 2.8, or whatever. There’s such a thimg of optimum vs. maximum, I prefer the former. My box delivers on its promise — and in the end that’s all I wanted.

Wow Tim! You really stirred the pot up. Good job. I mean it. I left a lengthy post 6 weeks ago or so. Thank you for the respectful comment. Quick reminder, I’ve been in this business for a few years now and know the inner workings of Streamsmarts product and business plan. First, you are right about the hardware. It’s a little outdated now and you can buy close to equal from China for less than $100 shipped. However, I can’t stress enough that these Android TV boxes, no matter how great the hardware, are only as good as the content they can deliver. As long as the box is capable of delivering media without buffering, crashing, etc. then it’s doing it’s job. As I mentioned in my previous post, the value is absolutely in the content. By the way, I recently tested and dissected the Streamsmart firmware. It’s no joke. You can’t just take the logins and use them with the same addons on other boxes. They’ve gone above and beyond to protect the premium addon. I think it’s overkill personally but hey , it works. Also, they haven’t skipped a beat as far as premium content. I kinda wish you were right as far as it being a bad purchase. I felt like that as well for the same reasons, but I’m telling you, once you experience every channel and every event in HD, never buffering. There’s just no way to deny the value. At some point you have to accept the overwhelming truth.

A closing thought…. $500K per mo., not by gouging, but by meeting the demand of people that had a choice.

Take care. Keep up the good work. Great post/thread by the way. I literally, never leave comments. I complement you on a job well done.

Streamsmart Is just like a mechanic on your car or a gardner. Sure we may be able to do these things ourselves but some people would rather not bother wasting time doing it when someone can do it for them.

Some people also drive KIA’s some drive Cadillacs, Mercedes BMW… they all get you from point A to B right?

But there is little extras in the luxury cars same with streamsmart.

Yes, there is other boxes out there and yes they may have similiar qualities but I prefer having peace of mind that if an add on (app) goes down streamsmart already has in place something to replace that bad add on.

That’s what Streamsmart bring to the table they add more and more programming as it becomes available no need for you to go out and find someone to reprogram your box or you going online to download the latest version of a certain add on or try to find the latest and greatest add on. I have no time to be dicking around in the computer! Time is money id rather leave it to someone to do that for me.

So in a nutshell $60 to $150 boxes you are comparing are not apples to apple to a Streamsmart Box.

Own one, as an UNPAID spokesperson for ANY media device, I worshipy Streamsmart. Totally worth it, I’ve watched so many different movies and sitcoms on line. Don’t take my word for it just because I said UNPAID, just rent one (if possible) from a local R2O, or Aarons. Give it 3 days, you’ll never give it up!

LOL… you worship the Chinese manufacturers who are actually providing all the support and updates (the same ones you could buy directly from)… I used to say all StreamSmart does (or any other premium box) is put a sticker on a box and sell it at an upgraded price. However, that is even giving them too much credit… they don’t even put the sticker on the box that’s done at the manufacturer too. Save yourself some money next time and don’t spend a couple of hundred bucks to join an unhelpful FB group (which is really all you are paying for). Just get one on Alibaba (and still get all the warranty, support, and upgrades) for far less.

You can find the streamsmart box for about $250 if you know what you’re doing. Sure the $50 box will get the job done and I wouldn’t even tell you not to get one. It’s the premium add ons that make all the difference for me. They stay on top of making sure access to live tv and sports is always available with good picture quality. The TV guide features are awesome when watching live tv. I can watch every baseball game in HD and never have a problem. I’ve probly played around with 5 other boxes and streamsmart is the smoothest based on the premiums making all the difference.

Hey guys – I’m an American service member living abroad and consider myself”Streaming Stupid” I need a device to plug-in and with very little configuration, just work. I want to watch NFL games, GoT as well as the latest movies. Will StreamSmart work over here in Belgium? Thanks

StreamSmart is pure shit! Although I am a software developer and understand these boxes, I bought at KAT-TV and TigerStream during one of their deep discount sales (which was still a bit overpriced) as I have a multitude of other projects going on and needed something quickly that the rest of family could use (so in fairness, there is a niche). That being said, one look on Alibaba and you can find better boxes, with better specs, that already come preloaded with custom android and media player (essentially the open source kodi slightly modified), OTA updates, add-on wizards, etc. They will even stamp your own logo and customize the packaging for you for anywhere from $1-$65 (depending on the quantity ordered). The manufacturer offers the one year warranty. So basically, the guys at streamdumb don’t do shit!

So if I bought a KAT-TV and TigerStream what does that have to do with StreamSmart? Well… when it comes to TigerStream… nothing… essentially the same box with the exact same premium add-ons, for the exact same price. Only difference there is that they offer better customer service than StreamSmart. How do I know… KAT-TV went belly up and transferred to StreamSmart (basically downloading the streamsmart android/kodi onto the KAT-TV box).

That being said, I wanted to order an updated remote for my KAT-TV and received a totally rude an unprofessional answer from streamsmart chat. When I posted my question on the KAT-TV forum (before it was set to close), somebody responded with go to the streamsmart website… you can get it there. When I explained that they were rude and unhelpful, someone using the KAT Streams user account started berating me (like a 2 year old) offering me a tissue and whatnot. When I said, fine, I will go with TigerStream from now on I was not only blocked from the KAT-TV group, I was blocked from the StreamSmart Group (although I was actually aware the KAT Streams account was someone who was closely connected… if not directly connected to SmartStream… as well as the initial poster who told me to go to the streamsmart webpage), I played along… when he didn’t like the answers he got, he became belligerent and rude prior to blocking (then sent me a private message with “HAHAHA Good night dummy!” I got you blocked from both sites)… This was shortly followed by a streamsmart administrator telling me I had been blocked from the StreamSmart site for “slanderous” insults on the KAT-TV page… huh? First off, if it is written…it is liable..not slander (so if you are going to try and intimidate someone with legal terms… at least use them appropriately). Even though nothing I said rose to that level… I had been a member of the StreamSmart support group for nearly 3 weeks and never made a SINGLE POST! Not ONE! Nadda!

Notwithstanding that it is none of streamsmarts business what I post on any page outside of their forum, this is FRAUD! I have now paid for advertised support and been blocked from that support (all because someone had a temper tantrum… talk about someone who needs a tissue… poor wittle ting… got his feewlings awl hurt!… FOR NOTHING).

I have reported StreamSmart to the FCC for Internet Fraud. You can’t offer a paid service to a customer and remove that service without a refund when no violation of any terms of service or policy ever occurred (again NOT A SINGLE THING WAS EVER POSTED ON THE STREAMSMART FB FORUM… NOTHING). I have also reported the fraud to FB and screen shot a bunch of private messages this coward used (he would send them and then mute the conversation so you couldn’t reply). I also screenshot all the forum admins names and details (I had to use another FB account as I was blocked with mine but it was easy enough… I’m actually in the forum on another account but that is not the point).

As I mentioned to him during our initial conversation on the KAT-TV wall, when your only added value is customer service… it actually helps to provide it. Don’t waste your money on this… yea you get a “fair” product but not necessarily at a fair price… it is like dealing with a scalper… if you approach it like that and are willing to take the risk then go for it… just know what you are getting into before you buy.

For me, it is not that big a deal as the risk was worth the convenience; however, I will be simply building my own from this point forward. I may even start my own (with a much fairer price point)… who knows?… maybe I will create a FB StreamSmartSucks support group for all the disgruntled StreamSmart Customers to post whatever they want (and help give potential customers a fair, unfiltered, evaluation of their services instead of the “rosy… kum ba ya” moderation they provide on their support page.

Ok… off to report the fraud to the attorney general now (it helps if you write one clear & concise complaint and then cut & paste)… toodles! 🙂

It is NOT illegal to sell/buy/use an android box. In fact, it is not any more illegal to purchase than a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Just like anything… a person can use it for illegal purposes but it is not illegal to own. Therefor, the legal terms of service do apply (especially when it comes to support).

Being new to Android and other devices, can anyone advise if I can receive programming content from DirectTV satellite service, or must the source be from the internet. If from the internet, must I then subscribe to a streaming service?

I have a friend who has a Streamsmart and he is happy with it. He is the one who turned me on to streaming but I didn’t want to pay the high price that he did so I did some research on the subject and I ended up putting Kodi on my laptop and I bought a Raspberry Pi 3 and I put Kodi on it. Both work great. There is no way I would pay the high price for a Streamsmart.

You go into a furniture store. There is a “flat-pack” table for $10 – assembly required; the same table assembled is $35 and the “pro” version of the table is $40 which comes with grey black screws and a collectors edition napkin. Knowing that the table has 100 parts and NO instructions, some people choose the pre-assembled one as they are not as good at building a working table from parts, some choose the PRO version ‘cus they like the collectors napkin and have tons of money, a few take the time to look at the assembled version, read up on it, take some notes and just put it together themselves. Anyway you look at it, a table is a table no matter how much you pay. For some buying a pre-configured box is worth the money. Me, I would rather UNDERSTAND how its put together, know everything about the hardware, software, who made it, and be in full control of my device and pay less. When my $20 TV box gets outdated or breaks, I toss it and load my new and improved box for another $20.

Dragon/Stream box or whatever name you call it is a questionable business model for people selling or buying (reminds me of the Speaker Van Scam). Notice how none of these companies give props to the people who spent their time and efforts to code KODI / XBMC originally? I don’t see them “giving back” to the people that enabled them to make some $$$. I personally like to keep an eye on things I put on my network as I value my privacy and security and don’t like to get the attention of ISP, popo, cops, feds, etc… Its like the electronic version of letting a crackhead stay in your house…yes, chances are it might be OK, but are you really willing to risk it?

Just my thought, thank you for the article and EVERYONE’S responses to it!

Lol download kodi on most any device and Google best add-ons and run exodus and others off your phone or laptop it’s simple did it in twenty mins totally free basically my phone and laptop are my stream smart dipstick android box or what have you

you know I was sooo torn ..
I am divorced . yes I drive a cadillac .. hav nice things .. but I also just unclogged my own drain line 4 days ago by pulling my own toilet and renting a heavy duty snake .. it easily saved me $450 . the point is I like VALUE for my money .. and while I was once married to a programmer, I am 55 yrs old and technology is the one glaring challenge in my life . (I now know how my grandmother felt with the microwave oven .. hah).
with that said .. I will express the to the one poster who made the table analogy that its not a difference between $20 and $40 .. for some people that $450 is a chunk. of. change .. ! and while I might spend money on a 1990 premier cru chateau margaux, and it might seem like a waste to some .. it is not for me .
thusly, spending money on technology is easy .. I just dont want to ~waste~ it .
if the difference between $20 and $400 is worth it to some .. sobeit.
but for some, like myself, even though I am technically challenged in the wording and nomenclature .. with a little research .. I usually figure it out .
the biggest help has been right here . (yes really) after strenuously reading about so many types, terms, etc I didnt know what to think and didnt hav anyone to ask ! (they will all giv the ‘sales pitch’ for their line, type, model of course ..)
one thing I did notice predominantly, and that is just about Every . Single . Techhie here, every Programmer, recommended Against the purchase of the SmartStream . I understand programs get antiquated very quickly, but for what you are getting, I hear a strong, solid, united .. No . its not the system .. its the VALUE . its just not there ..
therefore .. I am Not buying a SmartStream .. AND I am further going to tell my Listening Audience of my experience as well ..
lastly, let me say Thank You ! to the man who had the courage to start, and Maintain this review and comment thread .. mr. Tim Wells .. I realllly appreciate your dedication to this .. and by the looks of the comments here (nd yes, we know .. some hav been seeded by the SS company Im sure .. but even us ‘tech challenged’ people see thru that) but it does seem that many hav reaped the same benefit as well .. thank you thank you for making the Truth available .. !

~ sorry for any typos .. I am typing on my ph nd speak much more eloquently .. (except when snaking a drain line .. then I even dropped the ‘f’ bomb .. lol) but I digress .. !

For now I’m going to stick with my Amazon firestick and Ares Wizard on Kodi. It can be a pain in the butt from time to time because of buffering and finding a quality stream to watch sports or live T.V. is like arguing with my wife (pointless) but it’s good for streaming movies.

Come football season I’ll be forced to upgrade because I refuse to give my hard earned money to Direct TV. The $250 I’d spend on NFL sunday ticket I could invest into a streaming device I just don’t want to drop a couple hundred and get a box that buffers..

I truly enjoyed reading everybody’s comments but like I said I’m cheap so I’ll continue to research to find the best quality and value. Thanks

I think regardless of what “Stream” device you use, buffering is always going to come up. It’s internet based and unless you have T1 or some ungodly internet service you will always encounter buffering with internet based streaming. But on that note, I’m not here to blast cable TV, because it does give you the best quality, but I personally have a StreamSmart box because financially it was just a better deal than the $290.00 I pay monthly to Xfinity. They are killing me and my wallet is screaming. I’ve had my box for a short time but recently saw the advantage with watching UFC 213 & 214 within the last 4 weeks in 1080P (no buffering) and my box is 3/4 of the way paid on that alone. If I’m able to get NFL Pass to work then mission complete. The box offers more than I anticipated and I can’t imagine being without it, honestly. Some day big brother may come down hard and shut them down, but I will still feel it was a good purchase for what I have already experienced and saved financially. Good luck on your search.

There very well may be better options.. but I spent $350 and bought the new PRO from a direct seller and the very first night I had it I streamed UFC 214 in HD for free! No skipping, no lagging or buffering… between NFL Gamepass and 1 PPV UFC fight… it paid for itself already! Sooo like I said, there could be better cheaper stuff out there… but this has already saved me money and I’ve had it for a weekend lol.
I also have a jailbroken firestick with Kodi that gives me pretty much everything.. but I can’t get the premium apps like NFL Ticket or PPV like I can with StreamSmart. I don’t sell it so I couldn’t care less if you guys get it… just thought I’d add my 2cents:)

Yup, I’m right there with you. I’ve had my StreamSmart Pro for 6 weeks and watched UFC 213 & 214 with no issues in 1080P. This box does wonders. It pays for itself in a very short time. Even if you were to have issues with a program, you can find the exact same program on another app. The box has a ton of options. I pay $290.00 in Comcast per month and it’s killing me over the years. It’s been 6 weeks and the wife and I have yet to buy a pay-per-view movie. And to watch movies in theater is just plain crazy. Is this going to be the do-all-end-all? Probably not. I’ll have my buffing issues here and there, but they are so far apart you never really think about it. This box is truly a blessing. Even if big brother comes down on them I still feel it was worth the price.

All I can say is I have truly enjoyed my StreamSmart Pro for awhile now. I see tons and tons of negative reviews and I’m trying to be opened minded but I still have had no seroious issues with my StreamSmart Pro. Just watched UFC 213 & 214 within the last 4 weeks for FREE and I’m basically getting over like a fat rat. Yes, it cost a pretty penny just to purchase the box, but the truth is, if it last a simple year it’s still better than paying the $290.00 per month I pay in cable with XFinity with all the Pay-Per-View movies and what not. Yes, I’m sure it has its negative side, but just like everything else, it’s not perfect. Considering what my cable bill is every month, this is turning into a bargain, regardless of minor issues.

You had a $290 cable bill PER MONTH? That’s a car payment, dude. It’s also almost triple the national average (as of 2016), so either you’re just adding every channel you possibly could, or you need to shop around.

That’s still super expensive. But only a portion of it is your cable TV, so it’s not like the StreamSmart can replace your land line phone and your home security system. Unless they branched out and I didn’t hear about it. 🙂

This last week was a true test for the Streamsmart boxes. I have friends who got different Android boxes cause they were cheaper and said I was stupid to of paid the 300 for my S4. Well my box is still going while all of theirs are down because of some change to Android system. They all paid around 150 to 175 or so for their boxes and now being told they need another box or need the box upgraded to the new Android sytem for a cost between 100 and 150 dollars. Now they have paid as much as I have and I haven’t been down a single day. Support is always on top of things as always helping people, upgrades and such. They say you pay for what you get well now some of my friends are going to just get a streamsmart and others are going to take the chance of getting a new box.

Do your research and find a reseller you won’t get charged up the ass for a box. It’s funny as hell how everybody thinks they can get what Streamsmart gets on their cheap ass box. My buddy laughed at me the other day when i told him i payed a little more than $200 for my box. He said i payed $40 for mine Hahaha. Guess who was bitching and complaining a couple weeks ago when he had to to watch McGregor vs Mayweather fight on shitty ass links that kept buffering? Streamsmart or dont stream at all!

I don’t see him making your point. He got to watch the fight where his friend couldn’t. I have watched so much on my box it paid for itself in 2 months if that. Just the PPV fights and movies more then paid for itself. Get a cheap box and you probably aren’t going to get the support or the content you can get from a streamsmart.

If you only new what these streamsmart boxes can do. I have every generation and I’ve put them against every other box out there . As a matter of fact I have a collection of other boxes that customers have given me after I installed there boxes properly. To use the box properly you need a strong consistent wifi signal. I use a nighthawk router and I run 4 boxes in my home via WiFi with not any issues at all. And that having a PlayStation ,custom gaming PC and also Mac book and 3 iPhones all on wifi. These boxes do much more then play movies and sports . I’m in a wheelchair 24/7 so I have time to tinker around. I have got deep into the interworkings of these boxes and what I’ve found is incredible and I would buy them just for the extras . These are not normal boxes, I’ve used all and none even come close to the streamsmarts. Do you research with the box and not from what others say nor from others sites. I’m not a reseller I just help people out. I can give you fifty names of people that will tell you the same . If you install properly they work the way they say and the way you want. People don’t ask questions so they won’t get answers .who’s your cable /wifi Company and what service are you paying for how many mps comes into your house . What kind of router do you have. Those are questions I ask and those are questions the buyer needs to know before purchasing a box. I won’t sell to anybody who doesn’t get at least 2 to 300mps specially if they have children that have gaming consoles or cell phones. I have 3 boxes on 1 tv and I can do things that would blow your minds I watch movies from my phone anywhere I want via my box I pay nothing . hope this opens eyes and if not I enjoyed writing it anyway.

Ok, I’ve now read the entire comment thread. Im not likely to order the $40 version and try to figure out which apps and programs I need to download and install to get all the HD and premium channels. I just want a box at a fair price, with a remote etc, that is a true “Plug n Play” option for a almost non-tech person.

Please suggest some alternatives that offer all/most of the Streamsmart content, at a much lower price that is a true plug n play option without having to install and redesign the box to get it to work.

Well that took almost an hour reading everyone’s comments and trying to see everyone’s points of view. For me, I love my streamsmart box and don’t really care about the over charge( if there ever was one) I think the price is spot on and not having to pay anything after buying the box , I think it’s a pretty damn awesome. I use it every day and I got some family members to buy it too and they love it as well. It’s a choice to spend your money how you want. And to give it a bad review is pretty shitty, that’s just my opinion.

I have two boxes, an S4, and a pro. the first was a gift. I admit that the ‘genius’ was that everything was pre-installed, and auto updated. Then the channelup faded away, and support got weak. You can’t even post on their forum, (the facebook group, which was convenient and helpful, (except for a few admins (ST) that were pricks) closed abruptly). I regrettably recommended that a friend who was somewhat computer illiterate get one. She did, and was not happy with the product. I get constant buffering now. I have a Roku, and a google nexus player with kodi, neither buffers. I would not recommend the box to anyone.

I have owned my streamsmart PRO for 13 months. I researched ALL streaming devices prior to my purchase. ALL the current options are inferior, period. I have saved $101.36 per month for 13 months. This will continue for all the months I have my Pro box. I don’t have any problems at all. By the way, I paid only $349 for mine. VIP sale. I came by this site by accident. For very successful people such as myself time really is money. It really is a shame that people like you have violated the freedom of speech clause. So many people that use this site are being fed a line of feces and other lies. For those of you with eyes to see, do your own due diligence.I know you will choose STREAMSMART for your streaming needs. Just to let you know. I am NOT a re-seller, just a very happy customer.

I’m with you Mark. I got the S4 first off ebay before they stopped taking ebay bought units and since traded up to the pro. Support has been awesome. With automatic updates and them keeping on top of the best content around you don’t have to be a tech whiz to keep a box running.

Tim you are right that techwise buying this now at 300+ plus is ripping yourself off. When i bought my S4 2-3(?) years ago for $250 it was a great deal IMO. I can say that in all that time iv had no problems accessing anything I want on demand. At this point in time its only 3 main appeals would be ease of setup/maintenance, lots of available content, and it paying itself off due to said “free” content. So it very YMMV especially with the reseller, we work together so that helps.

Hey David. Thanks for the comment. People are normally passionate about this box one way or the other so it’s nice to actually get to debate someone on it. Let me talk to your three appeals individually.

1) Ease of setup/maintenance. I will give you this one. There’s a benefit (and a dollar value) to having something maintained for you. That’s one of the reasons I like both SkyStream and EZ_Stream. They have a simple setup to get you whatever addons are hot right now, but they use that as a way to differentiate themselves from the competition – not as an excuse to charge more. Don’t get me wrong…I AM OK WITH CHARGING FOR A VALUABLE SERVICE. (sorry for the caps, but I wan’t to make that part very clear). I just don’t think the $300 is providing enough value for that kind of price tag.

2) Lots of available content. Sure. But doesn’t any Kodi build have that? And they’re all free?

3) Paying itself off due to “free” content. OK..somewhat fair. But they don’t own the content or the rights to distribute that content. Not getting on a soapbox here, btw. I could care less if someone pirates content or doesn’t. But, if the main benefit for a product is to give access to something that is illegal at worst, or shady at best, that’s where I have a problem. Ask yourself this honestly: How long will it be before these pirate streams get shut down? Then what happens? Is the value still there?

Let me give you a scenario that is not only possible, but pretty gosh darned likely. Sooner or later the hammer drops and the entire Kodi craze comes crashing down. We’ll always find something else and some other way to pirate. That’s not the problem. The problem is when the law (or lawsuits) starts going after the companies that provide the boxes and the illegal content, I have concerns. If you bought something from a company, then your info is in that company’s records. If that company gets busted or sued, then all of it’s data can be seized. Then the law (or lawsuits) can start coming after individual users. We’re seeing something like this in the UK now, and we’ve seen it before in the US with torrented mp3’s.

I worry about the future and my readers who are opening themselves up to legal trouble while trying to make streaming simple. I think there’s a better way to spend a fraction of what you’re currently spending on cable and keep yourself safe in the long term.

I’m with you on the ease of the Streamsmart box. I had the S4 and upgraded to the Pro for 4k stuff. I have had very little problems and when I have support had me up and going in no time. You aren’t paying so much for the box and streaming content as much as you are for support. They always seem to be a step ahead of everything.

I think that anyone who is being really honest about this would have to agree that it isn’t so much the idea that one box gets more programming than another box. When it comes to “Free Add Ons” everyone gets the same thing. Exodus, Covenant, etc.

The problem is when those free third party add-ons stop working properly. If you’re a tech like me, you know what you need to do. Make sure you’re up to date, check the Repo, and find out if the app is down. Then recommend an alternative Add-on until the original gets fixed or replaced.

There are lots of movements going on out there in the Add-on realm that effect when or how long these add-ons are going to be available. So it’s in the owner’s best interest to have someone looking out for them and making sure that their box doesn’t turn into a paperweight (i.e. boxes with android 4.4).

The premium boxes being discussed in this thread provide the customers with the added assurance that not only will the boxes work when they receive them, but they will continue to work after they buy them. They provide online support. Some provide help videos. Others provide frequent updates.

I know this because I work for such a company. $400 + for a box seem like a lot up front, but people don’t seem to have any problem at all paying well over $700 a year for cable that doesn’t provide as much content. Not by a long shot.

Premium boxes are out there and people really enjoy using them. There is no perfect box, and I have learned that in this business the one thing you can be certain of is change. So if it’s your wish to own one of these boxes, whether you pay $65 or $465, you better be sure that when those changes happen, you have someone who is going to stand behind their product and provide the updates you need to keep working.

My roommate bought a SS box a year and half a ago, he paid a good penny. I decided to wait, I purchased an Android box (much cheaper) and I’m watching everything I need (like him) and no subscriptions. My roommate tells me, that his box seems slow now but for him it was easier to buy it. He is not tech savvy at all lol, I just couldn’t see paying so much money. But if it works for some people to have everything done for them so be it, I feel the same way that there is no perfect box. But I prefer to do everything myself and we are both happy we cut the cord (cable tv) a year ago.

I have a streamsmart box and love it. My friend didn’t want to pay the 350 dollars for the box and got another streaming box for 150. Both had basically the same stuff but Streamsmart did away with Kodi cause it was coming to an end and my friends box when it when down from Kodi they wanted another 200 dollars then for a new box set up with the new system. You pay for what you get. Support for this box is awesome and you never have to pay for any extras or updates.

Kodi hasn’t “come to an end.” The Media Player they’re using is a Kodi variant so they can put in their own modifications. It sounds great…until you realize that you won’t get anymore updates from Kodi directly. Any future updates that the real Kodi Developers (Team Kodi) release won’t work on StreamSmart’s Media Player.

Basically, you don’t have to pay for any updates because there won’t be any.

Look to be honest I bought one in a kiosk at the mall about 3 months ago. I figured I’d give it a try with the lower price tag of $200 for the s4. And at first I loved it, was amazing. But every day it updates and after a month half the apps don’t work anymore, especially the ones you use the most. Now I have very little apps that actually work or are still on it.” Bought from a streamsmart reseller btw”. It would be worth it if it remained working and had costumer support.

I have to Side with Tim on this one. But Let me first say to the Streamsmart resellers….BRAVO. Capitalism at it’s best. They developed a way to target a nitch Market of technology impaired consumers by catering to their needs, wants, and ignorance. I am all for that btw as a online seller of goods. Their profit margin is amazing and growing every day I assume.

Tim is absolutely right in every aspect but 1…..The box isn’t over priced. I believe the service is what you are paying for….question is for how long? This is where the scam factor comes into play…LIFETIME service fee???? at best I give it 12-24 months tops before these developers pack it up and disappear and reemerge under a new brand. I have been pirating since I ran my First Bulletin board System (BBS) and use the IRC to download content……and everyone knows how the game works. The resellers even know their boxes are in violation and will come to an end soon…instead they sell you on lifetime fees……but get real for a second…how long do you expect their dated box to last?

This is my opinion…..you can buy a top of the line box like I did a minix neo u9-h and also a nvida shield pro for the same price as this box. Then I installed all types of games and apps and I am talking PS4 quality btw and I got on yourtube and learned how to install different builds in kodi then I moved away from kodi and started using android apps like terrarium and showbox and popcorntime and a dozen others to test them out until I have everything for free and I do recommend using a VPN. Buy a good quality box so that when things get shut down and new apps need to be installed down the road your system can handle it until you have to upgrade your box. and get an air mouse to navigate different apps. You have to be fluid and adapt to the changing landscape because these programs and services all die.

Conclusion: If you are lazy or just to dumb to go on youtube to learn how to use a better box I suggest you buy the Streamsmart until you have an expensive paperweight… you deserve each other. I personally think the person behind streamsmart is a genius with great foresight….so they know what I am saying is true.

or

Save your money and buy a really cheap box for 30.00 on ebay and go to youtube to learn how to install stuff and see if you can do it. if you can, eventually you will want a top of the line box and then you can spend 150-250 on it and manage everything yourself instead of relying on a company that will disappear soon enough.

Like some others have commented, I stumbled upon this article after doing some research on Android boxes and falling down the Google rabbit hole, but I must say that reading this article AND the comments has been quite illuminating. Oddly enough, I was really just trying to learn more about these devices yet I was already a StreamSmart Pro owner. I got one as a gift back in December 2016, and my wife and I would enjoy it from time to time, but honestly, there was a lot to be desired in its performance. When I saw this article, about how much they actually cost, and the similar devices you can get for much less money, I was relieved that I hadn’t shelled out any of my own money for the StreamSmart Pro.

I have praised it here and there, I’m not going to lie. It has its upside, but again, the functionality just didn’t instill the confidence in me to fully cut the cord and kiss those cable bills goodbye, which is a bummer because that’s one of the main attractions to getting a streaming box.

So cut to a little less than a month ago, and the SS was mostly getting used once a week or so, for me to watch some movies here and there, when I was offered to take a new (at least it seems pretty new, from what I can find online) Android box for a test spin. It is called MaggTV, and I did an eye roll when it was first presented to my wife and I, but like I said, an acquaintance said I could try it out first so I figured what do I have to lose?

Here’s where I’m going to sound like a reseller in disguise, but this is god’s honest truth: I love this MaggTV box and I’m now about to actually ditch my DirecTV…FINALLY (well, I think we’re going to ditch DirecTV, more on that in a second)..This box (it says its the “Premier” model, I think it’s the only one they offer at the moment) has been a badass when it comes to performance, we’ve barely had any issues whatsoever. The premium add-ons are all there, too, like on the StreamSmart, and it also has most of the other bells and whistles that SS boasts.

I have gone from a doubter to a believer…for the most part. Always the hesitant and skeptical consumer, I have spent the past few days trying to find out as much as possible about Android streaming devices/boxes and I eventually came across this SS takedown and these accompanying comments. I must admit, it has me back to being the skeptic, but still…i’ve had this box for a few weeks now and the MaggTV seems like it’s worth the money (well, i’m getting for a discounted price, definitely NOT paying the amount that’s on their website, which is crazily high).

The MaggTV has the Amlogic S905X, and I noticed that this article has the SS Pro as having the S905…are those different at all or is it the same chip? I’m just trying to figure out why it seems like MaggTV works so much smoother and faster…I figure one reason could be that it’s running Android 6.0, and from what I can tell, it beats SS in a lot of the other specification categories…but I don’t know a dang thing about processors so I’m curious if the MaggTV is that much of an upgrade in that department?

I figure either way, I have been able to see for myself that it is a superior product…but is it REALLY worth a couple hundo, or maybe even three? That’s where I’m at right now, and as crazy as it keeps sounding to myself, I feel like I’m going to pull the trigger, but then I scan this article again, and I that skepticism creeps back into my brain.

Thanks for all the info on here, and i’d love the author’s thoughts on the MaggTV’s specs, if possible.

But for now, my own two cents, is that this article is right on the money that StreamSmart is a ripoff, but at the same time, when a box works really, really well and has good content/premium add-ons, like MaggTV, I feel like the money is well spent.

Good blog Tim. I am the owner of 3 SS boxes. As I am happy with the performance the support group on FB leaves a lot to be desired. Like others have said, disagreeing or questioning a moderator will get you booted and it doesn’t take much. What’s even more disheartening is they’ll send you a message letting you know, if you promise to behave like a well disciplined robot, they’ll lift the ban? That for me is enough never to purchase another box or recommend them to anyone. Nazi Germany was defeated long ago and apparently these guys didn’t get the memo.

Anyway, like I said, good blog. Learned a lot from the comments on where to make purchases in the future. Hope you don’t mind if I share this.

I bought a used Streamsmart S5 for $250 in August of 2016. I’ve had minor buffering issues at times but for the most part its paid for itself tenfold. I can watch any tv show at any time commercial free. I can watch just about any movie out there. New movies I can watch an HD copy within a couple months after it comes out. Bootlegs are out almost immediately, if you’re into those. I can pretty much watch anything. I was watching NWA wrestling matches from 30 years ago. Literally almost anything! I’ve saved over $100 monthly with no cable bill. Its not perfect, currently I haven’t had service for a couple of days and their support has no answer as to when I’ll be able to watch it again. But this is a first since I’ve gotten it so I’m willing to give them a break for now. The plusses have far outweighed the minuses. If anyone knows of other devices that have the same features as my Streamsmart and is considerably cheaper, let me know.

You might not want to cut them so much slack. Have you tried going to StreamSmart’s website in the past few days? It was under maintenance for several days and is now redirecting to another site entirely. If I was a betting man, I’d say that StreamSmart is done.

The links won’t always work. Someone at StreamSmart has to constantly maintain them. If the company goes bully-up (and it looks like that happened), then you’re left with a $300 box that’s worth $40 – which was the whole point of this article.

Not to mention that your customer records are on file with StreamSmart. So if they went under due to legal pressure, you’ve got legal crosshairs on you.

I agree with Lars. I’ve owned streamsmart boxes for over three years now and the pluses have far outweighed the minuses. I owned a Minx Neo X7 before streamsmart. It was always a pain to keep up on all the addons not working and what new ones to get. Streamsmart support is what I like the most. The wizard feature became automatic a short time ago and made kodi so much more enjoyable. Also, I used their live chat on their website a couple of times. I turned my S5 box on earlier and it seems to be working just fine. The addons updated and the links work. Also, I noticed a new premium addon that replace another (which happens from time to time). I hope streamsmart keeps going. I agree with everyone about the price, but I have not paid for cable TV since I’ve owned a streamsmart box and I have not missed anything that I’ve wanted to watch, sports events or movies. If anyone can find a equally or better alternative that is more affordable, and let us know, that would be great. I’ve been looking and I can’t find anything that comes close.

WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL with this article, really? Apple makes 380% off each phone and no one balks at that…. If people want to buy it, people will sell it. Let the market decide. I am a female who didn’t know anything about cutting cords. Didn’t even know StreamSmart was considered Android… Duh, right?
Here’s the only review people around me needs to know: I AM HAPPY now to not have an ugly dish on my house, and I paid $300 for having free TV forever (which is only a few months worth of my previous TV bill), and I do get ALL the channels I want so far.
Many boxes with other names, as the ones my neighbors have, do not have certain things that my box has!! They all come to my house when they need to watch some fights or live NFL games!!!
So I obviously made the better decision!!!

I have a streamsmart box. I commented on here about 9 months ago. I use to use it as my main source for tv. I have not paid for cable tv for 1 1/2 yrs. They (streamsmart) are supposedly changing their name to stream station. I am not sure if that is true but what I was told. I still use the box mainly for movies. I use a nvidia shield and iptv vader streams for live tv. Both work for me better than the box for live tv.

My roommate bought one 1.5 years and now he’s not too happy. I almost bought one but I did my homework first. A lot of the sites on his box are not working now and my android box has better hardware, memory and specs for way way less money. I constantly stream live sports from Europe and live tv and I have less buffering issues. I’m glad I didn’t buy one.

Tim, are you from Russia? Perhaps not, but you’re certainly a socialist or a hater of capitalism. There is no crime in making a profit. Supply and demand, you moron. You are well aware of the grey area relative to Kodi and Android boxes, and that’s why you don’t fear legal repercussions for the smear campaign you’ve perpetrated here.

I have my own issues with the StreamSmart devices and team, but this crap here should be exposed for what it is: bull$hit.

You jealous fukk.

I’m quite sure you believe you’re doing a service for people, but you’re actually a cry baby pushing BS as facts.

“Scam-level” pricing and other disingenuous quotes used in context of accusations against StreamSmart is nonsense. You can’t argue that point. A prominent dev and other respected people… their opinions are simply opinions. There is no reason for you to feel so compelled to try and sway public opinion so as to hurt the SS profit margins other than you’re insulted by their success.

Who gets to determine what a fair price is? Not you, dude. Comparing specs is fine for a review, but you’re making a case for litigation here, which is far, far over the line, bud. Unfounded and complete BS.

BUYER BEWARE. Sure. Fair enough.

LOCK ‘EM UP (essentially what you’re telling the public). Not fair.

You’re hating on salesmen making bank on a product a majority of customers are satisfied with.

The premium add ons and constant maintenance of the entire build pays for the box very quickly and sets it apart from the competition. Uninformed and knowledgeable buyers can agree with that. Praise other devices and sellers all you want, but SS did it better.

I have to give you props for responding. I wasn’t expecting that. But fair enough. Let’s go through your points:

“Scam level pricing”: That’s a direct quote from Ned Scott, who was at the time, Team Kodi member and is working for Wetek the last time I checked. Yes it’s an opinion. Everybody’s entitled to one. But facts are facts and the StreamSmart boxes are (or should I say “were”) priced several times more expensive than they should have been.

“Building a case for litigation”: Nope. Never said it. Never mentioned anything about lawsuits except in a comment where I think it is probable that companies will be sued for selling “free tv for life” boxes. And guess what…that’s happening right now.

“Who gets to determine what a fair price is”: I do. You do. Every person reading this does. I’m here to provide my experiences and recommendations and being “fair” is a big part of that. Listen to me, or don’t. That’s your choice.

I’m hating on salesman who make bank while banking on their customers not knowing any better. I’m educating people so that they can make an informed decision.

Here’s the bottom line: If you (anyone reading this) think I’m just full of **** and want to buy a StreamSmart box after reading this then by all means do so. More power to you. That’s your choice and as long as you’re happy with it, then I’m happy for you.

That’s the bottom line. A good company should be able to handle criticism about their product and then turn around to make that product better. So far, I’m not seeing that from StreamSmart. I’m just seeing them close up shop.

I have an S4 and a pro, have had my boxes for over 3 years. The initial purchase was pricey but definitely worth every Penny! I help educate my friends on how to use and install repositories on their $40 fire sticks and the amount of times we have to continually chase repostories for them because of add-ons being shut down is frustrating! With my boxes the support behind the scenes does all of that work for me! It is worth the money to be able to turn on the TV and know that the add ons are being kept up to date at all times so customers like me do not have to inconveniently chase them for hours just to watch a movie or live tv. Yes I will agree here In the last few weeks knowing the wizard is down has been a little nerve wracking because I do not want my convenience to end. I have faith that the wizard will be back up and running and I will have no disruptions on my end. I’ve yet to find any other company that is offering any other device with a plug and play all you want access to everything.

Stream smart boxes are not the same anymore, good luck getting the ” premium” anything to work lately. It’s literally day to day if anything live streaming works. When I bought this box it worked jus ok….then actually started working really well. Now it’s jus day to day, hoping I get to watch something on it……and I’m being very honest when I say my old fire stick from Amazon has been working so much better for live streams…the processor may b slower but at least it works! A lot of add ons specially the “premium” ones simply put….suck. Currently looking for a replacement box if anyone has a suggestion I would like your input. Sorry stream smart but the proof is sitting on my entertainment center unused next to the fire stick I’m currently using…and only cuz it works everyday.

I was just told by a Streamsmart reseller that the company is rebranding itself by another name and have renamed the boxes as well , they have reduced the price of the boxes to around 280 for the new upgrades

It’s called a business, they have a website to keep up, sales, overhead, returns, etc. Just bc you think it should cost a certain price bc you found the what the hardware they use costs doesn’t mean shit! There’s always a mark up, profit margin. I don’t have any affiliation with SS, I have had a S4 for over 3 years and it was worth every single penny. I to this day still have no issues with it. I thought about upgrading and haven’t needed too. It’s saved me 10x more than I’ve spent on it. I feel like this is a trash article bc you have something else to sell bc your points against it have ZERO merit.

How does you S4 with KitKat run the new 17.6 Kodi ? Ohhhhh that’s right, it CANT. Only forks like MyGica media center or FreakTab MC …. How does that S805 run a hot stream in 2k/4k …Oh that’s right it CANT. the GPU wont even decode a decent CGI movie in 1080p .. It’ll stutter and pixelate. I’ve reprogrammed a dozen or more of these boxes and they are all overpriced outdated and worth $20 used.

hi im in australia i got an s4 and it works perfectly…i just recently bought the pro version for my dad. I did not noe anything about stream smart until i meet a guy that was advertising online. I had few mates that when n got cheap ones online n nothing but headache..so i told them about streamsmart..only down side is that the remote that come with it could be better coz it looks lile a toy

I had an issue with my streamsmart box and was able to get a hold of them via live chat and their so-called warranty department with instructions on sending the box back so that they can check for defects. However, now that it’s been sent to them for almost 2 weeks now, they are hard to get a hold of and so I guess their version of rebranding means to disappear, too.

I’ve had streamsmart since they had their first model out .. my house is outfitted with some outdated s3 but my parents and a lot of their friends all have s4 or pro models one of my uncles even has several pro plus … however I’ve never NOR AS ANYONE IN MY CIRCLE ever paid full price for a unit … I am notified of sales going on every few months and even get loyalty discount codes sent to my email now and again if there isn’t a sale going on … just like everything in life you never pay full price u wait for a sale! So I’ve gotten all the units and units of family and friends fairly cheap and I think and so do they that they are worth every penny … I never went through a reseller since I was with stream smart from the get go so I’ve always gone through the main dude … I was there when the tech support was just through email then they set up some vox box chat through an app and then they got the online forum and facebook and just tonight I had a little hiccup and went on to find they now have live tech support on the website finallllly I’m so excited!!! I’ve never had an issue getting ahold of anyone from the SS team and I’ve never had an issue that couldn’t be resolved. I’m able to trade up my units whenever they put a program on for a fraction of the cost by returning my old unit … I love stream smart and I’ve been cable free since like 2013

These people saying they Love these devices and the price they paid are clueless. I sell Android boxes for a living. I also supply IPTV for a living. Both those boxes are now dinosaurs. Saying they are high quality is also a educational blind statement. I sell Zoomtak products primarily. Second to only MyGica and BuzzTv, and some OTT boxes like the T95U Pro. Everything I sell is high quality. All aluminum construction, and all S912 products ( 2/16 or 3/32 ) The few S905 and 905X boxes I sell are $99 and come loaded with everything but the kitchen sink, and include 1 month free IPTV so the customer can decide its true value to them. My top box is the Zoomtak U Pro ( 3/32gb ) and has the S912 and 3gb DDR4 ram and 32GB Samsung Emmc memory. I sell this box, also fully loaded for $180 and $200 with a 250GB Western Digital 2.5′ SATA HDD installed. It also comes with 1 free month of IPTV that provides over 2000 HD channels for $10 per month thereafter.
My biggest frown on Streamsmart is indeed selling a lifetime semi-iptv app through KODI, which is a big NO NO. Team Kodi works hard and their work should not be whored out for profit. My IPTV services come with their own .APK interface or use the STB EMU App. I DO NOT DO KODI LOADED DEVICES IN ANY WAY. There are enough separate .apk apps out there to leave their work alone for it’s intended purpose.
Streamsmart SUX period. End of Story. Crooks. ( i’ll sell you a S805 box for $40 all day long ) And don’t even get me going on their Kit Kat can’t be upgraded device.

Bait and switch! I bought this overpriced junk for channelup. 2 weeks after joining, channelup mysteriously was “under construction”. 2 weeks after that, they just removed the app. Now it’s gone. And they are pushing for other apps that are also available on cheaper devices.

Completely agree, you can get all the content the Streamsmart box offers on a much cheaper Android box with a little research. I’ve learned a lot about 3rd party APKs and Kodi add-ons just by searching YouTube, there’s step by step instructions and it’s actually pretty simple. I actually use Terrarium more than Kodi now-a-days. I’ve done away with using Kodi builds and just install add-ons to my liking now because I find builds to be too “heavy” and half the add-ons tend to quit working. Between multiple free IPTV apps and IPTV Kodi add-ons I get a ton of free channels and many are in HD. My biggest concern when I first got rid of cable was how I was going to watch live sports, particularly Ohio State Football (GO BUCKS!) I’ve found a few add-ons dedicated to live sports and you can find ANY game. Lately I’ve been using the Sport365 add-on and it’s freaking amazing, when you click on an event there’s tons of links to choose from so if one goes down there’s plenty more to choose from. My point is… There’s so much free content out there and people are getting ripped off because of their ignorance. Props to Streamsmart though because their margins are huge! Streaming is all the rage right now and there definitely is a market out there that has no idea how it all works and they certainly took advantage of it. I’ve seen people selling fully loaded Firesticks on Facebook for $80 and in the comments you see multiple people asking “do you need internet?” YES YOU NEED INTERNET! lol The market is definitely there. I actually met a Streamsmart customer at church today and when she told me how much she paid for it I was shocked. The whole reason she approached me was because I had posted about a Mi Box I recently purchased and was saying how much I liked it and what all it can do (everything her $500 box can do). This single woman has no business spending $500 on that box when she could barely afford a similar box at less than half the cost… And that’s the sad part.

I have been saving $101.36 per month since Oct. 2016. That dollar amount is based on my Spectrum bill savings in 2016. I looked at EVERY OPTION available at that time. The streamsmart product is far superior to all the other boxes put together. I paid $349 at the time because of a VIP sale. The ss pro usually runs $449. A little bit of math shows you my box was paid for in 3.5 months. ALL PROFIT after that. I just bought a Sony top of the line 4K HDR tv. Now I get to watch 4K content any time I want. The box updates every time you double click the red Kodi button. I know for a fact that NONE, I say NONE of the boxes out there can touch the ss pro. The lesson here is YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. It is that simple. You want a cheap car buy a Hyundai accent or you can buy a lamborghini. I’ll take my Lambo.

Since you obviously know everything there is to know about this type of product, perhaps you should have started your own KODI box company (or distribute the merchandise you say is readily available for a fraction of the price of the stream smart products), instead of just complaining about someone else’s. That band wagon. Unless you can point customers to a comparable device which offers the same level of service for a much cheaper price (and those boxes from gearbest apparently don’t match the service), all this is just sour grapes. Or, are you invested in gearbest? Because that would be my guess.

I bought the Streamsmart S4 Pro about 2 years ago. Paid around $325. Now the box just died. Totally dead. But it is worth it. Has everything I could ask for. None of the other devices have what this gives me. Don’t cate if it’s legal or not. So…looks like Streamsmart will get me for $325 every 2 years or so. It has paid for itself.

Today’s date is OCTOBER 15, 2018…Tim, has anything changed since you wrote this opinion piece, and since you last reply comment. I’ve read every single reply/post, and wondering the status of StreamSmart’s existence, current costs, and if your opinion has changed since then? Also, being that we’re only a few months away from year 2019, are we closer to a complete shutdown of streaming content free? Update, Update, Update please.

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